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MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH 


IN 


fetters  taoigtifc  0f  a  ter  tjpwjft  %  f  0rife- 

IN  THE  AUTUMN  OF  1856. 


INFORMATION  RELATIVE  TO  PUBLIC  LANDS, 

AND 

A  TABLE  OF  STATISTICS. 

* 

<s 

BY    C.    C.    ANDREWS,  1 1 

COUNSELLOR  AT  LAW,  EDITOR  OF  THE  OFFICIAL  OPINIONS  OF  THE  ATTORNEYS  GENERAL 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


'  From  the  forests  and  the  prairies. 
From  the  great  lakes  of  the  Northland, 
From  the  land  of  the  Ojibways, 
From  the  land  of  the  Dacotahs." 

LOSOFKI.I.OW. 


WASHINGTON: 
ROBERT   FARNHAM. 

1857. 
-X^      &    l^<    tt^ 

'^~< 


55 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1857,  by 
C.  C.  ANDREWS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and 
for  the  District  of  Columbia, 


PHILADELPHIA : 
STEREOTYPED  BY  E.  B.  MEAES. 
PRINTED  BY  C.  SHERMAN  &  SON. 


Bancroft  Library 


THESE 


gttorbs" 


RESPECTFULLY    INSCRIBED 


YOUNG  MEN  OF  MINNESOTA. 


1* 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  object  of  publishing  these  letters  can  be  very 
briefly  stated. 

During  the  last  autumn  I  made  a  tour  into 
Minnesota,  upwards  of  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles 
north-west  of  St.  Paul,  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  the 
character  and  prospects  of  the  territory.  All  I 
could  learn  from  personal  observation,  and  other 
wise,  concerning  its  society  and  its  ample  means 
of  greatness,  impressed  me  so  favorably  as  to  the 
advantages  still  open  to  the  settler,  that  I  put  down 
in  the  form  of  letters  such  facts  as  I  thought  would 
be  of  general  interest.  Since  their  publication — in 
the  Boston  Post — a  few  requests,  which  I  could  not 
comply  with,  were  made  for  copies  of  them  all.  I 
was  led  to  believe,  therefore,  that  if  I  revised  them 
and  added  information  relative  to  unoccupied  lands, 
the  method  of  preemption,  and  the  business  interests 
of  the  territory,  they  would  be  worthy  of  publication 
in  a  more  permanent  form.  Conscious  that  what  I 


Vlll  INTRODUCTION. 

have  written  is  an  inadequate  description  of  that 
splendid  domain,  I  shall  be  happy  indeed  to  have 
contributed,  in  ever  so  small  a  degree,  to  advance 
its  growth  and  welfare. 

Here  I  desire  to  acknowledge  the  aid  which  has 
been  readily  extended  to  my  undertaking  by  the 
Delegate  from  Minnesota — Hon.  HENRY  M.  RICE — 
whose  faithful  and  unwearied  services — I  will  take 
the  liberty  to  add — in  behalf  of  the  territory,  merit 
the  highest  praise.  I  am  also  indebted  for  valuable 
information  to  EARL  S.  GOODRICH,  Esq.,  editor  of 
the  Daily  Pioneer  (St.  Paul)  and  Democrat. 

In  another  place  I  give  a  list  of  the  works  which 
I  have  had  occasion  to  consult  or  refer  to. 

C.  C.  ANDREWS. 

Washington,  January  1,  1857. 


. 


LIST  OF  WORKS 

WIIICII  HAVE  BEEN  CONSULTED  OR  REFERRED  TO  IN  THE  PRE 
PARATION  OF  THIS  WORK. 

Expedition  to  the  Sources  of  the  Mississippi,  by  Major  Z.  M.  PIKE. 
1  vol.  Philadelphia  :  1807. 

Travels  to  the  Source  of  the  Missouri  River,  by  Captains  LEWIS 
atfd  CLARKE.  3  vols.  London  :  1815. 

Expedition  to  the  Source  of  the  St.  Peter's  River,  Lake  Winnepek, 
&c.,  under  command  of  Major  STEPHEN  H.  LONG.  2  vols.  Philadel 
phia:  1824. 

British  Dominions  in  North  America.  By  JOSEPH  BOUCHETTE, 
Esq.  3  vols.  London:  1832. 

History  of  the  Colonies  of  the  British  Empire.  By  R.  M.  MARTIN, 
Esq.  London :  1843. 

Report  on  the  Hydrographical  Basin  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  by 
J.  N.  NJCOLLET.  Senate  Document  237,  2d  Session,  26th  Congress. 
Washington :  1843.- 

Report  of  an  Exploration  of  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  by  Brevet 
Captain  JOHN  POPE,  Corps  Topographical  Engineers.  Senate  Docu 
ment  42,  1st  Session,  31st  Congress.  Washington :  1850. 

Sketches  of  Minnesota.     By  E.  S.  SEYMOUR.     New  York :  1850. 

Report  on  Colonial  and  Lake  Trade,  by  ISRAEL  D.  ANDREWS,  Con 
sul  General  of  the  United  States  for  the  British  Provinces.  Executive 
Document  112,  1st  Session,  32d  Congress.  Washington  :  1852. 

History  of  the  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
By  J.  G.  SHEA.  New  York :  1852. 

Minnesota  and  its  Resources.  By  J.  WESLEY  BOND.  New  York : 
1853. 

Discovery  of  the  Sources  of  the  Mississippi  River.  By  HENRY  R. 
SCHOOLCRAFT.  Philadelphia :  1855. 

Exploration  and  Surveys  for  a  Railroad  Route  from  the  Mississippi 
River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  made  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary 
of  War  in  1853-4,  (including  Reports  of  Gov.  Stevens  and  others.) 
Washington:  1855. 

The  Emigrant's  Guide  to  Minnesota.  By  an  Old  Resident.  1  vol. 
St.  Anthony :  1856. 

(9) 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I.    BALTIMORE  TO  CHICAGO.  PAGE 

Anecdote  of  a  preacher — Monopoly  of  seats  in  the  cars — Deten 
tion  in  the  night — Mountain  scenery  on  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad — Voting  in  the  cars — Railroad  refreshments — 
Political  excitement — The  Virginian  and  the  Fremonters — A 
walk  in  Columbus — Indianapolis — Lafayette — Michigan  City 
— Chicago 17 

LETTER  II.    CHICAGO  TO  ST.  PAUL. 

Railroads  to  the  Mississippi — Securing  passage  on  the  steam 
boat—The  Lady  Franklin— Scenery  of  the  Mississippi— Has 
tings — Growth  of  settlements  ';',^.r  •!,*:.>>  .  .  .  .28 

LETTER  III.    CITY  OP  ST.  PAUL. 

First  settlement  of  St.  Paul — Population — Appearance  of  the 
city— Fuller  House— Visitors— Roads— Minneapolis— St.  An 
thony — Suspension  Bridge 35 

LETTER  IV.     THE  BAR. 

Character  of  the  Minnesota  bar — Effect  of  connecting  land  busi 
ness  with  practice — Courts — Recent  legislation  of  Congress  as 
to  the  territorial  judiciary — The  code  of  practice — Practice  in 
land  cases — Chances  for  lawyers  in  the  West — Charles  O'Con 
nor—Requisite  qualifications  of  a  lawyer— The  power  and 

(11) 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

usefulness  of  a  great  lawyer — Talfourd's  character  of  Sir  Wil 
liam  Follett — Blending  law  with  politics — Services  of  lawyers 
in  deliberative  assemblies 41 

LETTER  V.    ST.  PAUL  TO  CROW  WING  IN  Two  DAYS. 
Stages — Roads — Rum  River — Indian  treaty — Ttasca — Sauk  Ra 
pids — Watab  at  midnight — Lodging  under  difficulties — Little 
Rock  River — Character  of  Minnesota  streams — Dinner  at  Swan 
River— Little  Falls— Fort  Ripley— Arrival  at  Crow  Wing  58 

LETTER  VI.    THE  TOWN  OF  CROW  WING. 
Scenery — First  settlement  of  Crow  Wing — Red  Lake  Indians — 
Mr.  Morrison — Prospects  of  the  town — Upper  navigation — Mr. 
Beaulieu — Washington's  theory  as  to  Norfolk — Observations 
on  the  growth  of  towns  .......     65 

LETTER  VII.  CHIPPEWA  INDIANS. — HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. 
Description  of  the  Chippewa  tribes — Their  habits  and  customs — 
Mission  at  Gull  Lake — Progress  in  farming — Visit  to  Hole-in- 
the-day — His  enlightened  character — Reflections  on  Indian 
character,  and  the  practicability  of  their  civilization — Their 
education — Mr.  Manypenny's  exertions  -  -«sJ,  ;#'  '.)  jti  ;  •  72 

LETTER  VIII.     LUMBERING  INTERESTS. 

Lumber  as  an  element  of  wealth — Quality  of  Minnesota  lumber — 
Locality  of  its  growth — The  great  pineries — Trespasses  on 
government  land — How  the  lumbermen  elude  the  government 
— Value  of  lumber — Character  of  the  practical  lumberman — 
Transportation  of  lumber  on  rafts  .  */_^.« '  '  •  •  •  82 

LETTER  IX.  SHORES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 
Description  of  the  country  around  Lake  Superior— Minerals — 
Locality  of  a  commercial  city — New  land  districts — Buchanan 
— Ojibeway — Explorations  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi — 
Henry  R.  Schoolcraft — M.  Nicollet's  report — Resources  of  the 
country  above  Crow  Wing  ...  ....  90 

LETTER  X.    VALLEY  OF  THE  RED  RIVER  OF  THE  NORTH. 

Climate  of  Minnesota — The  settlement  at  Pembina — St.  Joseph 

— Col.  Smith's  expedition — Red  River  of  the  North — Fur  trade 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

PAGE 

— Red  River  Settlement — Tho  Hudson's  Bay  Company — Ex- 
Gov.  Ramsey's  observations — Dacotah  ....     100 

LETTER  XL     THE  TRUE  PIONEER. 

Energy  of  the  pioneer — Frontier  life — Spirit  of  emigration — Ad 
vantages  to  tho  farmer  in  moving  West — Advice  in  regard  to 
making  preemption  claims — Abstract  of  tho  preemption  law — 
Hints  to  the  settler — Character  and  services  of  the  pioneer  114 

LETTER  XII.  SPECULATION  AND  BUSINESS. 
Opportunities  to  select  farms — Otter  Tail  Lake — Advantages  of 
the  actual  settler  over  the  speculator — Policy  of  new  states  as 
to  taxing  non-residents — Opportunities  to  make  money — Anec 
dote  of  Col.  Perkins — Mercantile  business — Price  of  money — 
Intemperance — Education — The  free  school  •  "•  ".  126 

LETTER  XIII.     CROW  WING  TO  ST.  CLOUD. 
Pleasant  .drive  in  the  stage — Scenery — The  past — Fort  Ripley 
Ferry— Delay  at  the  Post  Office— Belle  Prairie— A  Catholic 
priest — Dinner  at  Swan  River — Potatoes — Arrival  atWatab — 

st. cloud  ~~v  ;-.<: ''•.'•-.  : ' :'' 135 

LETTER  XIV.     ST.  CLOUD.— THE  PACIFIC  TRAIL. 
Agreeable  visit  at  St.  Cloud — Description  of  the  place — Causes 
of  the  rapid  growth  of  towns — Gen.  Lowry — The  back  country 
— Gov.  Stevens's   report — Mr.  Lambert's   views — Interesting 
account  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Tinkham's  exploration         .        .        .     141 

LETTER  XV.    ST.  CLOUD  TO  ST.  PAUL. 

Importance  of  starting  early — Judge  Story's  theory  of  early 
rising — Rustic  scenery — Horses  and  mules — Surveyors — Hum- 
boldt — Baked  fish — Getting  off  the  track — Burning  of  hay 
stacks — Supper  at  St.  Anthony — Arrival  at  the  Fuller  House  156 

LETTER  XVI.    PROGRESS. 

Rapid  growth  of  the  North-West — Projected  railroads — Terri 
torial  system  of  the  United  States — Inquiry  into  the  cause  of 
Western  progress — Influence  of  just  laws  and  institutions — 
Lord  Bacon's  remark      .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .164 

o 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

THE  PROPOSED  NEW  TERRITORY  OF  DACOTAH. 
Organization  of   Minnesota  as   a  state — Suggestions  as  to  its 
division — Views  of  Captain  Pope — Character  and  resources  of 
the  new  territory  to  be  left  adjoining — Its  occupation  by  the 
Dacotah  Indians — Its  organization  and  name         .         .         .173 

POST  OFFICES  AND  POSTMASTERS        ......  191 

LAND  OFFICES  AND  LAND  OFFICERS 194 

NEWSPAPERS  PUBLISHED  IN  MINNESOTA 196 

TABLE  OF  DISTANCES         s,;     v;,    • 198 

PRE-EMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES      ...  .  203 


PART   I. 
LETTERS  ON  MINNESOTA. 


(15) 


MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 


LETTER   I. 

BALTIMORE  TO  CHICAGO. 

Anecdote  of  a  preacher — Monopoly  of  seats  in  the  cars — Detention 
in  the  night — Mountain  scenery  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Rail 
road — Voting  in  the  cars — Railroad  refreshments — Political  excite 
ment — The  Virginian  and  the  Fremonters — A  walk  in  Columbus — 
Indianapolis — Lafayette — Michigan  City — Chicago. 

CHICAGO,  October,  1856. 

I  SIT  down  at  the  first  place  where  a  pen  can  be 
used,  to  give  you  some  account  of  my  trip  to  Minne 
sota.  And  if  any  one  should  complain  that  this  is 
a  dull  letter,  let  me  retain  his  good-will  by  the 
assurance  that  the  things  I  expect  to  describe  in  my 
next  will  be  of  more  novelty  and  interest.  And 
here  I  am  reminded  of  a  good  little  anecdote  which 
I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  have  a  better  chance  to  tell. 
An  eminent  minister  of  the  Gospel  was  preaching 
in  a  new  place  one  Sunday,  and  about  half  through 
his  sermon  when  two  or  three  dissatisfied  hearers 
got  up  to  leave.  "My  friends,"  said  he,  "I  have 
one  small  favor  to  ask.  As  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  prejudice  my  reputation  in  this  vicinity,  I 
2*  (17) 


18  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

beg  you  to  be  candid  enough,  if  any  one  asks  how 
you  liked  my  sermon,  to  say  you  didn't  stop  to  hear 
me  through." 

Stepping  into  the  cars  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad  a  few  evenings  ago — for  I  am  not  going  to 
say  anything  of  my  trip  further  east — I  saw  as  great 
an  exhibition  of  selfishness  as  one  often  meets  in 
travelling.  This  was  in  the  rear  car,  the  others  be 
ing  all  crowded.  The  seats  were  spacious,  and  had 
high  backs  for  night  travelling.  A  gentleman  enter 
ed  the  car  and  proposed  to  sit  in  a  seat  in  which 
was  only  one  child,  but  he  was  informed  by  a  femi 
nine  voice  in  the  rear  that  the  whole  seat  was  taken 
— so  he  advanced  to  the  next  seat,  which  was  occu 
pied  by  another  child,  a  boy  about  eight  years  old — 
again  the  same  voice,  confirmed  by  one  of  the  other 
sex,  informed  him  in  very  decided  terms  that  that 
also  was  wholly  occupied.  The  gentleman  of  course 
did  not  attempt  to  take  a  seat  with  this  lady,  but 
advancing  still  further,  in  a  seat  behind  her  he  saw 
another  child  the  only  occupant.  His  success  here 
was  no  better.  The  fact  was,  here  was  a  family 
of  a  husband,  wife,  and  three  children  occupying 
five  entire  seats.  The  traveller  politely  asked  if 
it  would  not  be  convenient  for  two  of  the  children 
to  sit  together.  "  No,"  said  the  lady  and  her  hus 
band  (and  they  spoke  together,  though  they  didn't 
sit  together),  "  the  children  want  all  the  room  so  as 
to  sleep."  The  traveller  betrayed  no  feeling  until 
the  husband  aforesaid  pointed  out  for  him  a  seat 


BALTIMORE  TO  CHICAGO.  19 

next  to  a  colored  woman  who  sat  alone  near  the 
door  of  the  car,  some  little  distance  off.  It  was 
quite  apparent,  and  it  was  the  fact,  that  this 
colored  woman  was  the  servant  of  the  family ;  and 
the  traveller  appeared  to  think  that,  although  as  an 
"original  question"  he  might  not  object  to  the 
proffered  seat,  yet  it  was  not  civil  for  a  man  to 
offer  him  what  he  would  not  use  himself.  The 
scene  closed  by  the  traveller's  taking  a  seat  with 
another  gentleman.  I  mention  this  incident  be 
cause  it  is  getting  to  be  too  common  for  people  to 
claim  much  more  room  than  belongs  to  them,  and 
because  I  have  seen  persons  who  are  modest  and 
unused  to  travelling  subjected  to  considerable  annoy 
ance  in  consequence.  Moreover,  conductors  are 
oftentimes  fishing  so  much  after  popularity,  that 
they  wink  at  misconduct  in  high  life. 

Somewhere  about  midnight,  along  the  banks  of 
the  Potomac,  and,  if  I  remember  right,  near  the 
town  of  Hancock,  the  cars  were  detained  for  three 
hours.  A  collision  had  occurred  twelve  hours  before, 
causing  an  extensive  destruction  of  cars  and  freight, 
and  heavy  fragments  of  both  lay  scattered  over  the 
track.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  skilful  use  of  a 
steam-engine  in  dragging  off  the  ruins,  we  must 
have  waited  till  the  sun  was  up.  Two  or  three  large 
fires  were  kindled  with  the  ruins,  so  that  the  scene 
of  the  disaster  was  entirely  visible.  And  the  light 
shining  in  the  midst  of  the  thick  darkness,  near  the 
river,  with  the  crowd  of  people  standing  around, 


20  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

was  not  very  romantic,  perhaps  not  picturesque — 
but  it  was  quite  novel ;  and  the  novelty  of  the  scene 
enabled  us  to  bear  with  greater  patience  the  gloomy 
delay. 

The  mountain  scenery  in  plain  sight  of  the  travel 
ler  over  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  road  is  more  exten 
sive  and  protracted,  and  I  think  as  beautiful,  as  on 
any  road  in  the  United  States.  There  are  as  wild 
places  seen  on  the  road  across  Tennessee  from  Nash 
ville,  and  as  picturesque  scenes  on  the  Pennsylvania 
Central  road — perhaps  the  White  Mountains  as  seen 
from  the  Atlantic  and  St.  Lawrence  road  present  a 
more  sublime  view — but  I  think  on  the  road  I  speak 
of,  there  is  more  gorgeous  mountain  scenery  than  on 
any  other.  On  such  routes  one  passes  through  a 
rude  civilization.  The  settlements  are  small  and 
scattered,  exhibiting  here  and  there  instances  of 
thrift  and  contentment,  but  generally  the  fields  are 
small  and  the  houses  in  proportion.  The  habits  of 
the  people  are  perhaps  more  original  than  primitive. 
It  was  along  the  route  that  I  saw  farmers  gathering 
their  corn  on  sleds.  The  cheerful  scene  is  often 
witnessed  of  the  whole  family — father,  mother,  and 
children — at  work  gathering  the  crops.  These 
pictures  of  cottage  life  in  the  mountain  glens,  with 
the  beautiful  variegated  foliage  of  October  for 
groundwork,  are  objects  which  neither  weary  nor 
satiate  our  sight. 

The  practice  of  taking  a  vote  for  presidential 
candidates  in  the  cars  has  been  run  into  the  ground. 


BALTIMORE  TO  CHICAGO.  21 

By  this  I  mean  that  it  has  been  carried  to  a  ridi 
culous  excess.  So  far  I  have  had  occasion  to  vote 
several  times.  A  man  may  be  indifferent  as  to 
expressing  his  vote  when  out  of  his  state ;  but  a 
man's  curiosity  must  have  reached  a  high  pitch 
when  he  travels  through  a  train  of  cars  to  inquire 
how  the  passengers  vote.  It  is  not  uncommon,  I 
find,  for  people  to  carry  out  the  joke  by  voting  with 
their  real  opponents.  Various  devices  are  resorted 
to  to  get  a  unanimous  vote.  For  example,  a  man 
will  say,  "  All  who  are  in  favor  of  Buchanan  take 
off  their  boots  ;  all  in  favor  of  Fremont  keep  them 
on."  Again,  when  there  are  several  passengers  on 
a  stage-coach  out  west,  and  they  are  passing  under 
the  limbs  of  a  tree,  or  low  bridge,  as  they  are  called, 
it  is  not  unusual  for  a  Fremont  man  to  say,  "  All 
in  favor  of  Fremont  bow  their  heads." 

I  have  a  word  to  say  about  refreshments  on  rail 
road  routes.  It  is,  perhaps,  well  known  that  the 
price  for  a  meal  anywhere  on  a  railroad  in  the  United 
States  is  fifty  cents.  That  is  the  uniform  price. 
Would  that  the  meals  were  as  uniform  !  But  alas  ! 
a  man  might  as  well  get  a  quid  of  tobacco  with  his 
money,  for  he  seldom  gets  a  quid  pro  quo.  Once 
in  a  couple  of  days'  travel  you  may  perhaps  get  a 
wholesome  meal,  but  as  a  general  thing  what  you 
get  (when  you  get  out  of  New  England)  isn't  worth 
over  a  dime.  You  stop  at  a  place,  say  for  breakfast, 
after  having  rode  all  night.  The  conductor  calls 
out,  "  Twenty  minutes  for  breakfast."  There  is  a 


22  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

great  crowd  and  a  great  rush,  of  course.  Well,  the 
proprietor  expects  there  will  be  a  crowd,  and  ought 
to  be  prepared.  But  how  is  it  ?  Perhaps  you  are 
lucky  enough  to  get  a  seat  at  the  table.  Then  your 
chance  to  get  something  to  eat  is  as  one  to  thirteen : 
for  as  there  is  nothing  of  any  consequence  on  the 
table,  your  luck  depends  on  your  securing  the  ser 
vices  of  a  waiter  who  at  the  same  time  is  being  called 
on  by  about  thirteen  others  as  hungry  as  yourself. 
Then  suppose  you  succeed  !  First  comes  a  cup  of 
black  coffee,  strong  of  water  ;  then  a  piece  of  tough 
fried  beef  steak,  some  fried  potatoes,  a  heavy  biscuit 
— a  little  sour  (and  in  fact  everything  is  sour  but 
the  pickles).  You  get  up  when  you  have  finished 
eating — it  would  be  a  mockery  to  say  when  you  have 
satisfied  your  appetite — and  at  the  door  stand  two 
muscular  men  (significantly  the  proprietor  is  aware 
of  the  need  of  such)  with  bank  "bills  drawn  through 
their  fingers,  who  are  prepared  to  receive  your  50c. 
It  is  not  unusual  to  hear  a  great  deal  of  indignation 
expressed  by  travellers  on  such  occasions.  No  man 
has  a  right  to  grumble  at  the  fare  which  hospitality 
sets  before  him.  But  when  he  buys  a  dinner  at  a 
liberal  price,  in  a  country  where  provisions  are 
abundant,  he  has  a  right  to  expect  something  which 
will  sustain  life  and  health.  Those  individuals  who 
have  the  privilege  of  furnishing  meals  to  railroad 
travellers  probably  find  security  in  the  reflection  that 
their  patronage  does  not  depend  on  the  will  of  their 
patrons.  But  the  evil  can  be  remedied  by  the  pro- 


BALTIMORE  TO  CHICAGO.  23 

prietors  and  superintendents  of  the  roads,  and  the 
public  will  look  for  a  reformation  in  dinners  and 
suppers  at  their  hands. 

I  might  say  that  from  Benwood,  near  Wheeling — 
where  I  arrived  at  about  four  in  the  afternoon,  having 
been  nearly  twenty-four  hours  coming  375  miles — I 
passed  on  to  Zanesville  to  spend  the  night ;  thinking 
it  more  convenient,  as  it  surely  was,  to  go  to  bed  at 
eleven  at  night  and  start  the  next  morning  at  eight, 
than  to  go  to  bed  at  Wheeling  at  nine,  or  when  I 
chose,  and  start  again  at  two  in  the  morning.  The 
ride  that  evening  was  pleasant.  The  cars  were  filled 
with  lusty  yeomen,  all  gabbling  politics.  There 
was  an  overwhelming  majority  for  Fremont.  Under 
such  circumstances  it  was  a  virtue  for  a  Buchanan 
man  to  show  his  colors.  There  was  a  solid  old  Vir 
ginian  aboard  ;  and  his  open  and  intelligent  counte 
nance — peculiar,  it  seems  to  me,  to  Virginia — 
denoted  that  he  was  a  good-hearted  man.  I  was 
glad  to  see  him  defend  his  side  of  politics  with  so 
much  zeal  against  the  Fremonters.  He  argued 
against  half  a  dozen  of  them  with  great  spirit  and 
sense.  In  spite  of  the  fervor  of  his  opponents, 
however,  they  treated  him  with  proper  respect  and 
kindness.  It  was  between  eleven  and  twelve  when 
I  arrived  at  Zanesville.  I  hastened  to  the  Stacy 
House  with  my  friend,  J.  E.  B.  (a  young  gentleman 
on  his  way  to  Iowa,  whose  acquaintance  I  regard  it 
as  good  luck  to  have  made).  The  Stacy  House 
could  give  us  lodgings,  but  not  a  mouthful  of  re- 


24  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH, 

freshments.  As  the  next  best  thing,  we  descended 
to  a  restaurant,  which  seemed  to  be  in  a  very  drowsy 
condition,  where  we  soon  got  some  oysters  and 
broiled  chicken,  not  however  without  paying  for  it 
an  exorbitant  price.  I  rather  think,  however,  I 
shall  go  to  the  Stacy  House  again  when  next  1  visit 
Zanesville,  for,  on  the  whole,  I  have  no  fault  to  find 
with  it.  Starting  at  eight  the  next  morning,  we 
were  four  hours  making  the  distance  (59  miles)  from 
Zanesville  to  Columbus.  The  road  passes  through 
a  country  of  unsurpassed  loveliness.  Harvest  fields, 
the  most  luxuriant,  were  everywhere  in  view.  At 
nearly  every  stopping-place  the  boys  besieged  us 
with  delicious  apples  and  grapes,  too  tempting  to  be 
resisted.  We  had  an  hour  to  spend  at  Columbus, 
which,  after  booking  our  names  at  the  Neil  House 
for  dinner — and  which  is  a  capital  house — we  partly 
spent  in  a  walk  about  the  city.  It  is  the  capital  of 
the  state,  delightfully  situated  on  the  Scioto  river, 
and  has  a  population  in  the  neighborhood  of  20,000. 
The  new  Capitol  there  is  being  built  on  a  scale  of 
great  magnificence.  Though  the  heat  beat  down 
intensely,  and  the  streets  were  dusty,  we  were  "  bent 
on  seeing  the  town."  We — my  friend  B.  and  my 
self — had  walked  nearly  half  a  mile  down  one  of 
the  fashionable  streets  for  dwellings,  when  we  came 
to  a  line  which  was  drawn  across  the  sidewalk  in 
front  of  a  residence,  which,  from  the  appearance, 
might  have  belonged  to  one  of  the  upper-ten.  The 
line  was  in  charge  of  two  or  three  little  girls,  the 


BALTIMORE  TO  CHICAGO.  Uo 

eldest  of  whom  was  not  over  twelve.  She  was  a 
bright-eyed  little  miss,  and  had  in  her  face  a  good 
share  of  that  metal  which  the  vulgar  think  is  indis 
pensable  to  young  lawyers.  We  came  to  a  gradual 
pause  at  sight  of  this  novel  obstruction.  "  Bucha 
nan,  Fillmore,  or  Fremont?"  said  she,  in  a  tone  of 
dogmatical  interrogatory.  B.  was  a  fervid  Fre- 
monter — he  probably  thought  she  was — so  he  ex 
claimed,  "  Fremont  for  ever  !"  I  awaited  the  sequel 
in  silence.  "Then  you  may  go  round,"  said  the 
little  female  politician.  "  You  may  go  round,"  and 
round  we  went,  not  a  little  amused  at  such  an  exhi 
bition  of  enthusiasm.  I  remember  very  well  the 
excitement  during  the  campaign  of  1840  ;  and  I  did 
my  share  with  the  New  Hampshire  boys  in  getting 
up  decoy  cider  barrels  to  humbug  the  Whigs  as  they 
passed  in  their  barouches  to  attend  some  great  con 
vention  or  hear  Daniel  Webster.  But  it  seems  to 
me  there  is  much  more  political  excitement  during 
this  campaign  than  there  was  in  1840.  Flag-staffs 
and  banners  abound  in  the  greatest  profusion  in 
every  village.  Every  farm-house  has  some  token 
of  its  politics  spread  to  the  breeze. 

At  twenty  minutes  past  one — less  or  more — we 
left  Columbus,  and  after  travelling  158  miles,  via 
Dayton,  we  came  to  Indianapolis,  the  great  "  Rail 
road  City,"  as  it  is  called,  of  the  west.  It  was  half 
past  nine  when  we  arrived  there.  I  did  not  have 
time  to  go  up  to  the  Bates  House,  where  I  once  had 
the  pleasure  of  stopping,  but  concluded  to  get  sup- 


26  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTA1I. 

per  at  a  hotel  near  the  depot,  where  there  was 
abundant  time  to  go  through  the  ceremony  of  eating. 
It  strikes  me  that  Indianapolis  would  be  an  agreeable 
place  to  reside  in.  There  are  some  cities  a  man 
feels  at  home  in  as  soon  as  he  gets  into  them ;  there 
are  others  which  make  him  homesick ;  just  as  one 
will  meet  faces  which  in  a  moment  make  a  good 
impression  on  him,  or  which  leave  a  dubious  or  dis 
agreeable  impression.  That  city  has  16,000  people. 
Its  streets  are  wide,  and  its  walks  convenient.  All 
things  denote  enterprise,  liberality,  and  comfort.  It 
is  210  miles  from  Indianapolis  to  this  city,  via  La 
fayette  and  Michigan  City.  We  ought  to  have 
made  the  time  in  less  than  twelve  hours,  and,  but  for 
protracted  detentions  at  Lafayette  and  Michigan 
City,  we  would  have  done  so.  We  reached  the 
latter  place  at  daylight,  and  there  waited  about  the 
depot  in  dull  impatience  for  the  Detroit  and  Chicago 
train.  It  is  the  principal  lake  harbor  in  Indiana. 

It  is  about  two  years  since  I  was  last  in  Chicago; 
and  as  I  have  walked  about  its  streets  my  casual 
observation  confirms  the  universal  account  of  its 
growth  and  prosperity.  I  have  noticed  some  new 
and  splendid  iron  and  marble  buildings  in  the  course 
of  completion.  Chicago  is  a  great  place  to  find  old 
acquaintances.  For  its  busy  population  comprises 
citizens  from  every  section  of  the  United  States, 
and  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  The  number 
of  its  inhabitants  is  now  estimated  at  100,000. 
Everybody  that  can  move  is  active.  It  is  a  city  of 


BALTIMORE  TO  CHICAGO.  27 

activity.  Human  thoughts  are  all  turned  towards 
wealth.  All  seem  to  be  contending  in  the  race  for 
riches :  some  swift  and  daring  on  the  open  course ; 
some  covertly  lying  low  for  a  by-path.  You  go 
along  the  streets  by  jerks :  down  three  feet  to  the 
street  here  ;  then  up  four  slippery  steps  to  the  side 
walk  there.  Here  a  perfect  crowd  and  commotion — 
almost  a  mob — because  the  drawbridge  is  up.  You 
would  think  there  was  a  wonderful  celebration  com 
ing  off  at  twelve,  and  that  everybody  was  hurrying 
through  his  work  to  be  in  season  for  it.  Last  year 
20,000,000  bushels  of  grain  were  brought  into  Chi 
cago.  Five  years  ago  there  were  not  a  hundred 
miles  of  railroad  in  the  state  of  Illinois.  Now  there 
are  more  than  two  thousand.  Illinois  has  all  the 
elements  of  empire.  Long  may  its  great  metro 
polis  prosper ! 


LETTER   II. 

CHICAGO  TO  ST.  PAUL. 

Railroads  to  the  Mississippi — Securing  passage  on  the  steamboat — 
The  Lady  Franklin — Scenery  of  the  Mississippi — Hastings — 
Growth  of  settlements. 

ST.  PAUL,  October,  1856. 

How  short  a  time  it  is  since  a  railroad  to  the  Mis 
sissippi  was  thought  a  wonder  !  And  now  within 
the  state  of  Illinois  four  terminate  on  its  banks. 
Of  course  I  started  on  one  of  these  roads  from  Chi 
cago  to  get  to  Dunleith.  I  think  it  is  called  the 
Galena  and  Chicago  Union  Road.  A  good  many 
people  have  supposed  Galena  to  be  situated  on  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  indeed  railroad  map  makers 
have  had  it  so  located  as  long  as  it  suited  their  con 
venience — (for  they  have  a  remarkable  facility  in 
annihilating  distance  and  in  making  crooked  ways 
straight) — yet  the  town  is  some  twelve  miles  from 
the  great  river  on  a  narrow  but  navigable  stream. 
The  extent  and  importance  of  Rockford,  Galena, 
and  Dunleith  cannot  fail  to  make  a  strong  impres 
sion  on  the  traveller.  They  are  towns  of  recent 
growth,  and  well  illustrate  that  steam-engine  sort  of 
progress  peculiar  now-a-days  in  the  west.  Ap 
proaching  Galena  we  leave  the  region  of  level  prai- 

(28) 


CHICAGO  TO  ST.  PAUL.  29 

ric  and  enter  a  mineral  country  of  naked  bluffs  or 
knolls,  where  are  seen  extensive  operations  in  the 
lead  mines.  The  trip  from  Chicago  to  Dunleith  at 
the  speed  used-  on  most  other  roads  would  be  per 
formed  in  six  hours,  but  ten  hours  are  usually  occu 
pied,  for  what  reason  I  cannot  imagine.  However, 
the  train  is  immense,  having  on  board  about  six  or 
seven  hundred  first  class  passengers,  and  two-thirds 
as  many  of  the  second  class.  Travelling  in  the  cars 
out  west  is  not  exactly  what  it  is  between  Phila 
delphia  and  New  York,  or  New  York  and  Boston, 
in  this  respect :  that  in  the  West  more  families  are 
found  in  the  cars,  and  consequently  more  babies  and 
carpet  bags. 

It  may  not  be  proper  to  judge  of  the  health  of  a 
community  by  the  appearance  of  people  who  are 
seen  standing  about  a  railroad  station ;  yet  I  have 
often  noticed,  when  travelling  through  Illinois,  that 
this  class  had  pale  and  sickly  countenances,  showing 
too  clearly  the  traces  of  fever  and  ague. 

But  I  wish  to  speak  about  leaving  the  cars  at 
Dunleith  and  taking  the  steamboat  for  St.  Paul. 
There  is  a  tremendous  rush  for  the  boats  in  order  to 
secure  state-rooms.  Agents  of  different  boats  ap 
proach  the  traveller,  informing  him  all  about  their 
line  of  boats,  and  depreciating  the  opposition  boats. 
For  instance,  an  agent,  or,  if  you  please,  a  runner 
of  a  boat  called  Lucy — not  Long — made  the  as 
sertion  on  the  levee  with  great  zeal  and  perfect  im 
punity  that  no  other  boat  but  the  said  Lucy  would 
3* 


30  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

leave  for  St.  Paul  within  twenty-four  hours  ;  when 
it  must  have  been  known  to  him  that  another  boat 
on  the  mail  line  would  start  that  same  evening,  as 
was  actually  the  fact.  But  the  activity  of  the  run 
ners  was  needless  ;  for  each  boat  had  more  passen 
gers  than  it  could  well  accommodate.  I  myself 
went  aboard  the  "  Lady  Franklin,"  one  of  the  mail 
boats,  and  was  accommodated  with  a  state-room. 
But  what  a  scene  is  witnessed  for  the  first  two  hours 
after  the  passengers  begin  to  come  aboard !  The 
cabin  is  almost  filled,  and  a  dense  crowd  surrounds 
the  clerk's  office,  just  as  the  ticket  office  of  a  theatre 
is  crowded  on  a  benefit  night.  Of  course  not  more 
than  half  can  get  state-rooms  and  the  rest  must 
sleep  on  the  cabin  floor.  Over  two  hundred  cabin 
passengers  came  up  on  the  Lady  Franklin.  The 
beds  which  are  made  on  the  floor  are  tolerably 
comfortable,  as  each  boat  is  supplied  with  an  extra 
number  of  single  mattresses.  The  Lady  Franklin 
is  an  old  boat,  and  this  is  said  to  be  its  last  season.1 
Two  years  ago  it  was  one  of  the  excursion  fleet  to 
St.  Paul,  and  was  then  in  its  prime.  But  steamboats 
are  short  lived.  We  had  three  tables  set,  and  those 
who  couldn't  get  a  seat  at  the  first  or  second  sat  at 
the  third.  There  was  a  choice  you  may  believe,  for 
such  was  the  havoc  made  with  the  provisions  at  the 
first  table  that  the  second  and  third  were  not  the  most 
inviting.  It  was  amusing  to  see  gentlemen  seat  them- 

1Three  weeks  after  this  trip  the  Lady  Franklin  was  snagged,  and 
became  a  total  toss. 


CHICAGO  TO  ST.  PAUL. 


31 


selves  in  range  of  the  plates  as  soon  as  they  were  laid, 
and  an  hour  before  the  table  was  ready.  But  the  offi 
cers  were  polite — as  is  generally  the  case  on  steam 
boats  till  you  get  down  to  the  second  mate — and  in  the 
course  of  a  day  or  two,  when  the  passengers  begin  to 
be  acquainted,  the  time  wears  away  pleasantly.  We 
were  nearly  four  days  in  making  the  trip.  The  line 
of  boats  of  which  the  Lady  Franklin  is  one,  carries 
the  mail  at  fifty  dollars  a  trip.  During  the  boating 
season  I  believe  the  fare  varies  from  seven  to  ten 
dollars  to  St.  Paul.1  This  season  there  have  been 
two  lines  of  boats  running  to  Minnesota.  All  of 
them  have  made  money  fast ;  and  next  season  many 
more  boats  will  run.  The  "Northern  Belle"  is  the 
best  boat  this  season,  and  usually  makes  the  trip  up 
in  two  days.  The  advertised  time  is  thirty  hours. 

The  scenery  on  the  upper  Mississippi  is  reputed 
to  be  beautiful.  So  it  is.  Yet  all  river  scenery  is 
generally  monotonous.  One  gets  tired  of  looking 
at  high  rocky  ridges  quite  as  quickly  as  at  more 

JThe  following  is  a  table  of  distances  from  Galena  to  St.  Paul : 


D-ibnque, 

24 

Badaxe  City,    .    .    10  161 

Johnstown, 

2  290 

Dnnleith,       . 

1    25 

Warner's  Landing,     6  167 

Lake  City, 

5  304 

Potosi  Landing 

14    39 

Brownsville, 

10  177 

Central  Point, 

2  306 

Waupaton, 

10    49 

La  Crosse,    . 

12  189 

Florence,       .     . 

3309 

Buena  Vista, 

5    54 

Uacotah, 

12  201 

Maiden  Rock, 

3312 

Cassville,       . 

4    58 

Richmond, 

6  207 

Wcsterville, 

3  315 

Guttenberg, 

10    68 

Monteville, 

5  212 

Wacouta,       .    . 

12  327 

Clavton, 

12    80 

Homer, 

10  222 

Red  Wing,     .     . 

6  333 

Wy-xhising, 

5    85 

Winona, 

7  229 

Thing's  Landing, 

7  340 

McGregor's, 

6    91 

Fountain  City, 

12  241 

Diamond  Bluff, 

8  348 

Prairie  du  Chie 

i. 

4    95 

Mount  Vernon, 

14  255 

Prescott,       .     . 

13  361 

Red  House, 

.      5  100 

Minneiska, 

4  259 

Point  Douglass, 

1  362 

Johnson's  Land 

• 

,     2  102 

Alma, 

15  274 

Hastings,       .     . 

3  365 

Lafayette,     . 

30  132 

Wabashaw, 

10  284 

Grev  Cloud, 

12  377 

Columbus, 

2  134 

Nelson's  Landing 

3  287 

Pine  Bend, 

4  381 

Lansing, 

1  135 

Reed's  Landing,     .      2  289 

Red  Rock,    .    . 

8  389 

l)e   Soto,        . 

.      6  141 

Foot  of  Lake  Pepin,  2  291 

Kaposia,        .    . 

3  392 

Victory, 

.    10  151 

North  Pepin,    .    .      6  297 

St.  Paul,        .    . 

5  397 

32  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

tame  and  tranquil  scenery.  The  bluffs  on  either 
side  of  the  Mississippi,  for  most  of  the  way  between 
Dunleith  and  St.  Anthony's  Falls,  constitute  some 
of  the  most  beautiful  river  scenery  in  the  world.  It 
is  seldom  that  they  rise  over  two  hundred  feet  from 
the  water  level,  and  their  height  is  quite  uniform, 
so  that  from  a  distant  point  of  view  their  summit 
resembles  a  huge  fortification.  Nor,  as  a  general 
thing,  do  they  present  a  bold  or  rocky  front.  The 
rise  from  the  river  is  gradual.  Sometimes  they  rise 
to  a  sharp  peak,  towards  the  top  of  which  crops  out 
in  half  circles  heavy  ridges  of  limestone.  The  ra 
vines  which  seem  to  divide  them  into  separate  ele 
vations,  are  more  thickly  wooded,  and  appear  to 
have  been  grooved  out  by  the  rolling  down  of  deep 
waters.  The  most  attractive  feature  of  these  bluffs — 
or  miniature  mountains,  as  they  might  be  called — is 
their  smooth  grassy  surface,  thinly  covered  over 
with  shade  trees  of  various  kinds.  Whoever  has 
seen  a  large  orchard  on  a  hill  side  can  imagine  how 
the  sides  of  these  bluffs  look.  At  this  season  of  the 
year  the  variegated  foliage  of  the  trees  gives  them  a 
brilliant  appearance.  It  is  quite  rare  to  see  a  bluff 
which  rises  gradually  enough  to  admit  of  its  being 
a  good  town  site.  Hence  it  is  that  settlements  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  will  never  be  very  numerous. 
Nature  has  here  interposed  against  that  civilization 
which  adorns  the  lower  Mississippi.  It  appears  to 
me  that  all  the  available  points  for  town  sites  on 
the  river  are  taken  up  as  far  as  the  bluffs  extend ; 


CHICAGO  TO  ST.   PAUL.  33 

and  some  of  these  will  require  a  great  amount  of 
excavation  before  they  can  grow  to  importance. 

But  there  are  several  thrifty  and  pleasant  villages 
in  Minnesota,  on  the  river,  before  reaching  St.  Paul. 
The  first  one  of  importance  is  Brownsville,  where, 
for  some  time,  was  a  United  States  land  office.  It 
is  153  miles  above  Dunleith.  Winona,  53  miles 
further  up,  is  a  larger  town.  It  is  suid  to  contain 
5000  population.  There  is  a  land  office  there  also. 
But  the  town  stands  on  land  which,  in  very  high 
water,  will  run  too  much  risk  of  inundation.  Pass 
ing  by  several  other  landings  and  germs  of  towns, 
we  come  to  Wacouta,  ninety-eight  miles  above, 
which  is  a  successful  lumber  depot.  Six  miles  fur 
ther  on  is  Red  Wing,  a  place  which  delighted  me  on 
account  of  its  cheerful  location.  It  is  growing  quite 
fast,  and  is  the  seat  of  a  large  Methodist  seminary. 
But  the  town  of  Hastings,  thirty-two  miles  above, 
eclipses  everything  but  St.  Paul.  It  is  finely 
located  on  rising  ground,  and  the  river  is  there  nar 
row  and  deep.  The  boat  stopped  here  an  hour,  and 
I  had  a  good  opportunity  to  look  about  the  place. 
The  town  appears  to  have  considerable  trade  with 
the  back  country.  Its  streets  are  laid  out  with  re 
gularity  ;  its  stores  and  buildings  are  spacious,  du 
rable,  and  neat.  I  heard  that  over  $2000  were 
asked  for  several  of  the  building  lots.  A  little  way 
into  the  interior  of  the  town  I  saw  men  at  work  on 
a  stone  church ;  and  approaching  the  spot,  I  deter 
mined  to  make  some  inquiries  of  a  boy  who  was 


34  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

briskly  planing  boards.  First,  I  asked  how  much 
the  church  was  going  to  cost  ?  About  $3000,  he 
replied. 

"  Are  there  any  other  churches  in  the  place  ?" 

"  Yes,  up  there,  where  they  are  building." 

"  What  denomination  is  that  ?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  he  responded.  "  I  only  came 
into  the  place  yesterday." 

I  thought  he  was  doing  well  to  begin  to  build 
churches  so  soon  after  his  arrival.  And  from  his 
countenance,  I  have  no  doubt  he  will  do  well,  and 
become  a  useful  citizen  of  the  state.  Hastings  has  its 
democratic  press — the  Dakota  Journal,  edited  by  J. 
C.  Dow,  a  talented  young  man  from  New  Hamp 
shire.  The  population  of  the  town  is  about  two 
thousand.  It  is  thirty-two  miles  below  St.  Paul, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  There  is  nothing  of 
especial  interest  between  the  two  places. 

The  great  panorama  which  time  paints  is  but  a 
species  of  dissolving  views.  It  is  but  as  yesterday 
since  the  present  sites  of  towns  and  cities  on  the 
shores  just  referred  to  showed  only  the  rude  huts 
of  Indian  tribes.  To-day,  the  only  vestige  left 
there  of  the  Indian  are  his  burying-grounds.  Here 
after  the  rudeness  of  pioneer  life  shall  be  exchanged 
for  a  more  genial  civilization,  and  the  present,  then 
the  past,  will  be  looked  back  to  as  trivial  by  men 
still  yearning  for  the  future. 


LETTER    III. 

CITY  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

First  settlement  of  St.  Paul — Population — Appearance  of  the  city — 
Fuller  House — Visitors — Roads — Minneapolis — St.  Anthony — Sus 
pension  Bridge. 

FULLER  HOUSE,  ST.  PAUL,  October,  185G. 
THE  circumstance  of  finding  a  good  spring  of 
water  first  led  to  the  settlement  of  Boston.  It 
would  not  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  a  similar 
advantage  induced  the  first  settler  of  St.  Paul  to 
locate  here ;  for  I  do  not  suppose  its  pioneers  for  a 
long  while  dreamed  of  its  becoming  a  place  even  of 
its  present  importance.  And  here  let  me  mention 
that  St.  Paul  is  not  on  the  west  side  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  but  on  the  east.  Though  it  is  rather  too 
elevated  and  rough  in  its  natural  state  to  have  been 
coveted  for  a  farm,  it  is  yet  just  such  a  spot  as  a 
pioneer  would  like  to  plant  himself  upon,  that  he 
might  stand  in  his  door  and  have  a  broad  and  beau 
tiful  view  towards  the  south  and  west.  And  when 
the  speculator  came  he  saw  that  it  was  at  the  head 
of  navigation  of  what  he  thought  was  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  but  which  in  reality  is  only  the  Middle 
Mississippi.  Then  stores  were  put  up,  small  and 
rude,  and  trade  began  to  increase  with  settlers  and 

(35) 


36  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

hunters  of  furs.  Then  came  the  organization  of  the 
territory,  and  the  location  of  the  capital  here,  so 
that  St.  Paul  began  to  thrive  still  more  from  the 
crumbs  which  fell  from  the  government  table,  as 
also  by  that  flood  of  emigration  which  nothing  ex 
cept  the  Rocky  Mountains  has  ever  stayed  from 
entering  a  new  territory.  And  now  it  has  passed 
its  doubtful  era.  It  has  passed  from  its  wooden  to 
its  brick  age.  Before  men  are  certain  of  the  suc 
cess  of  a  town,  they  erect  one  story  pine  shops ;  but 
when  its  success  appears  certain,  they  build  high 
blocks  of  brick  or  granite  stores.  So  now  it  is 
common  to  see  four  and  five  story  brick  or  stone 
buildings  going  up  in  St.  Paul. 

I  believe  this  city  numbers  at  present  about 
10,000  population.  It  is  destined  to  increase  for  a 
few  years  still  more  rapidly  than  it  has  heretofore. 
But  that  it  will  be  a  second  Chicago  is  what  I  do 
not  expect.  It  would  certainly  seem  that  the  high 
prices  demanded  for  building  lots  must  retard  the 
progress  of  the  place ;  but  I  am  told  the  prices  have 
always  been  as  high  in  proportion  to  the  business 
and  number  of  population.  $500  and  upwards  is 
asked  for  a  decent  building  lot  in  remote  parts  of 
the  town. 

I  have  had  an  agreeable  stroll  down  upon  the 
bluff,  south-east  from  the  city,  and  near  the  elegant 
mansion  of  Mr.  Dayton.  The  first  engraving  of  St. 
Paul  was  made  from  a  view  taken  at  that  point.  As 
I  stood  looking  at  the  city,  I  recalled  the  picture  in 


CITY  OF  ST.  PAUL.  87 

Mr.  Bond's  work,  and  contrasted  its  present  with  the 
appearance  it  had  three  or  four  years  ago.  What  a 
change  !  Three  or  four  steamers  were  lying  at  the 
levee ;  steam  and  smoke  were  shooting  forth  from 
the  chimneys  of  numerous  manufactories ;  a  ferry 
was  plying  the  Mississippi,  transporting  teams  and 
people ;  church  steeples  and  domes  and  great  ware 
houses  stood  in  places  which  were  vacant  as  if  but 
yesterday  ;  busy  streets  had  been  built  and  peopled ; 
rows  of  splendid  dwellings  and  villas,  adorned  with 
delightful  terraces  and  gardens,  had  been  erected. 
I  went  out  on  Sunday  morning  too,  and  the  view 
was  none  the  less  pleasant.  Business  was  silent ; 
but  the  church  bells  were  ringing  out  their  sweet 
and  solemn  melody,  and  the  mellow  sunlight  of 
autumn  glittered  on  the  bright  roofs  and  walls  in  the 
city.  The  whole  scene  revealed  the  glorious  image 
of  that  ever  advancing  civilization  which  springs 
from  well  rewarded  labor  and  general  intelligence. 
Like  all  new  and  growing  places  in  the  west,  St. 
Paul  has  its  whiskey  shops,  its  dusty  and  dirty 
streets,  its  up  and  down  sidewalks,  and  its  never- 
ceasing  whirl  of  business.  Yet  it  has  its  churches, 
well  filled ;  its  spacious  school-houses ;  its  daily 
newspapers ;  and  well-adorned  mansions.  There 
are  many  cottages  and  gardens  situated  on  the  most 
elevated  part  of  the  city,  north  and  west,  which 
would  not  suffer  by  a  comparison  with  those  cheer 
ful  and  elegant  residences  so  numerous  for  six  to 
ten  miles  around  Boston.  From  the  parlors  of  these 
4 


38  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

homes  one  may  look  down  upon  the  city  and  upon 
the  smooth  bosom  of  the  river.  In  the  streets,  too, 
you  see  much  evidence  of  opulence  and  luxury,  in 
the  shape  of  handsome  carriages,  which  are  set  out 
to  advantage  by  a  first-rate  quality  of  horses. 

One  element  of  the  success  of  this  city  is  the 
public  spirit  of  its  leading  business  men.  They  have 
put  their  hands  deep  into  their  pockets  to  improve 
and  advance  the  place.  In  all  their  rivalry  there  is 
an  amicable  feeling  and  boundless  liberality.  They 
help  him  that  tries  to  help  himself,  and  help  each 
other  in  a  way  that  will  help  them  all  together ;  and 
such  kind  of  enterprises  produces  grand  results. 
Why,  here  is  a  new  hotel  (the  Fuller  House)  at  which 
I  stop,  which  is  surpassed  but  by  very  few  hotels  in 
the  country.  It  is  a  first-class  house,  built  of  brick, 
five  stories  high,  and  of  much  architectural  beauty. 
The  building  itself  cost  upwards  of  $100,000,  and 
its  furniture  over  $30,000.  Its  proprietor  is  Mr. 
Long,  who  has  already  had  good  success  in  this  sort 
of  business.  One  can  well  imagine  the  comfort  of 
finding  such  a  house  at  the  end  of  a  long  and  tedious 
journey  in  a  new  country. 

It  is  estimated  that  28,000  people  have  visited  and 
left  St.  Paul  during  the  present  season.  During 
July  and  August  the  travel  diminishes,  but  as  soon 
as  autumn  sets  in  it  comes  on  again  in  daily  floods. 
It  is  really  a  novel  and  interesting  state  of  things 
one  finds  on  his  arrival  at  the  hotel.  There  are  so 
many  people  from  so  many  different  places  !  Then 


CITY  OF  ST.  PAUL.  39 

everybody  is  a  stranger  to  almost  everybody,  and 
therefore  quite  willing  to  get  acquainted  with  some 
body.  Everybody  wants  a  bit  of  information  on 
some  point.  Everybody  is  going  to  some  place 
where  lie  thinks  somebody  has  been  or  is  going,  and 
so  a  great  many  new  acquaintances  are  made  with 
out  ceremony  or  delay;  and  old  acquaintances  are 
revived.  I  find  people  who  have  come  from  all  sec 
tions  of  the  country — from  the  east  and  the  west, 
and  from  the  south — not  adventurers  merely,  but 
men  of  substance  and  means,  who  seek  a  healthier 
climate  and  a  pleasant  home.  Nor  can  I  here  omit 
to  mention  the  meeting  of  my  friend,  Col.  A.  J. 
Whitney,  who  is  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Minnesota, 
and  with  whom  I  had  two  years  before  travelled 
over  the  western  prairies.  A.  S.  Marshall,  Esq., 
of  Concord,  N.  H.,  well  known  as  a  popular  speaker, 
is  also  here  on  a  visit. 

But  what  are  the  roads  leading  from  St.  Paul,  and 
what  are  the  facilities  of  travel  to  places  beyond  ? 
These  are  questions  which  I  suppose  some  would  like 
to  have  answered.  There  is  a  road  to  Stillwater, 
and  a  stage,  which  I  believe  runs  daily.  That  is 
the  route  now  often  taken  to  Lake  Superior.  This 
morning  three  men  came  in  on  that  stage  from  Su 
perior,  who  have  been  a  week  on  the  journey.  The 
great  highway  of  the  territory  extends  as  far  as 
Crow  Wing,  130  miles  north  of  here.  It  passes  St. 
Anthony  and  several  important  towns  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Mississippi.  In  a  day  or  two  I  intend 


40  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

to  take  a  journey  as  far  as  Crow  Wing,  and  I  can 
then  write  with  more  knowledge  on  the  subject. 

A  very  pretty  drive  out  of  St.  Paul  is  by  the  cave. 
This  is  an  object  worth  visiting,  and  is  about  two 
miles  out  of  the  city.  Three  or  four  miles  beyond 
are  the  beautiful  falls  of  Minnehaha,  or  laughing 
water.  The  drive  also  takes  in  Fort  Snelling.  St. 
Anthony  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi; 
Minneapolis  is  opposite,  on  the  west  side.  Both 
places  are  now  large  and  populous.  The  main 
street  of  St.  Anthony  is  over  a  mile  in  length.  One 
of  the  finest  water  powers  in  the  Union  is  an  ele 
ment  of  growth  to  both  towns.  The  lumber  which 
is  sawed  there  is  immense.  A  company  is  under 
taking  to  remove  the  obstructions  to  navigation  in 
the  river  between  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony. 
$20,000  were  raised  for  the  purpose ;  one-half  by 
the  Steamboat  Company,  and  the  other  half  by  the 
people  of  St.  Anthony.  The  suspension  bridge 
which  connects  Minneapolis  with  St.  Anthony  is 
familiar  to  all.  It  is  a  fit  type  of  the  enterprise  of 
the  people.  I  forget  the  exact  sum  I  paid  as  toll 
when  I  walked  across  the  bridge — perhaps  it  was 
a  dime ;  at  any  rate  I  was  struck  with  the  answer 
given  by  the  young  man  who  took  the  toll,  in  reply 
to  my  inquiry  as  I  returned,  if  my  coming  back 
wasn't  included  in  the  toll  paid  going  over  ?  "  No," 
said  he,  in  a  very  good-natured  way,  "  we  don't 
know  anything  about  coming  back  ;  it's  all  go  ahead 
in  this  country  " 


LETTER  IV. 

THE  BAR. 

Character  of  the  Minnesota  bar — Effect  of  connecting  land  business 
with  practice — Courts — Recent  legislation  of  Congress  as  to  tho 
territorial  judiciary — The  code  of  practice — Practice  in  land  cases — 
Chances  for  lawyers  in  the  West — Charles  O'Connor — Requisite 
qualifications  of  a  lawyer — The  power  and  usefulness  of  a  great 
lawyer — Talfourd's  character  of  Sir  William  Follett — Blending  law 
with  politics — Services  of  lawyers  in  deliberative  assemblies. 

ST.  PAUL,  October,  1856. 

I  HAVE  not  yet  been  inside  of  a  court  of  justice, 
nor  seen  a  case  tried,  since  I  have  been  in  the  terri 
tory.  But  it  has  been,  my  pleasure  to  meet  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  and  several  promi 
nent  members  of  the  bar.  My  impression  is,  that 
in  point  of  skill  and  professional  ability  the  Minne 
sota  bar  is  a  little  above  the  average  of  territorial 
bars.  Here,  as  in  the  West  generally,  the  practice 
is  common  for  lawyers  to  mix  with  their  profession 
considerable  miscellaneous  business,  such  as  the 
buying  and  selling  of  land.  The  law  is  too  jealous 
a  mistress  to  permit  any  divided  love,  and  there 
fore  it  cannot  be  expected  that  really  good  lawyers 
will  be  found  in  the  ranks  of  general  business 
agents  and  speculators.  In  other  words,  a  broker's 
4*  (41) 


42  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

office  is  not  a  lawyer's  office.  There  are  some  law 
yers  here  who  have  attended  strictly  to  the  profes 
sion,  who  are  ornaments  of  it,  and  who  have  met 
with  good  success.  The  idea  has  been  common,  and 
as  fatal  as  common,  that  success  in  legal  practice 
could  be  easily  attained  in  the  West  with  a  small 
amount  of  skill  and  learning.  It  is  true  that  a  poor 
lawyer  aided  by  some  good  qualities  will  sometimes 
rise  to  affluence  and  eminence,  though  such  cases  are 
exceptions.  There  are  able  lawyers  in  the  West, 
and,  though  practice  may  be  less  formal  and  subtle 
than  in  older  communities,  ability  and  skill  find 
their  relative  advancement  and  reward,  while  igno 
rance  and  incapacity  have  their  downward  tendency 
just  as  they  do  everywhere  else.  The  fees  for  pro 
fessional  services  are  liberal,  being  higher  than  in 
the  East.  Before  an  attorney  can  be  admitted  to 
practise  he  must  have  an  examination  by,  or  under 
the  direction  of,  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme 
court.  The  provisions  of  the  territorial  statutes 
are  quite  strict  in  their  tendency  to  maintain  up 
right  practice. 

An  act  of  the  present  congress  has  created  a 
revolution  in  the  courts  of  the  territory.  The  or 
ganic  act,  §  9,  provided  that  the  territory  should  be 
divided  into  three  judicial  districts;  "and  a  dis 
trict  court  shall  be  held  in  each  of  said  districts  by 
one  of  the  justices  of  the  supreme  court,  at  such 
times  and  places  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law." 
This  meant,  I  suppose,  at  such  times  and  places  as 


THE  BAR.  43 

the  territorial  legislature  should  prescribe.  Accord 
ingly,  as  population  increased  and  extended,  and  as 
counties  were  established,  the  territorial  legislature 
increased  the  places  in  each  district  for  holding  the 
district  court.  Either  on  account  of  the  expense 
or  for  some  other  cause  congress  has  just  stepped 
aside  from  the  doctrine  of  non-intervention  (ch.  124, 
sec.  5),  and  abrogated  the  territorial  legislation  so 
far  as  to  provide  that  there  shall  be  but  one  place 
in  each  of  the  three  districts  for  holding  a  district 
court.  The  act  applies  to  all  territories.  In  a 
territory  of  five  or  six  hundred  miles  in  extent  it  is 
of  course  inconvenient  to  have  but  three  places  for 
holding  courts.  The  Minnesotians  complain  that  it 
is  an  interference  with  popular  sovereignty.  It  is 
possible  the  legislature  might  have  gone  to  an  ex 
treme  in  creating  places  for  holding  courts ;  and  I 
suppose  the  judges  were  kept  on  the  march  a  good 
deal  of  the  time.  It  also  looks  as  if  the  remedy  by 
congress  was  extreme.  The  people  say  it  is  a  co 
ercive  measure  to  drive  them  into  a  state  organi 
zation. 

The  administration  of  justice  is  secured  by  a  sys 
tem  which  is  now  common  to  all  the  territories,  with 
the  exception  of  Kansas.  The  supreme  court  con 
sists  of  the  three  district  judges  in  full  bench.  They 
hold  nisi  prius  terms  in  their  respective  districts, 
which  are  called  district  courts.  The  judges  have 
a  salary  of  $2000  each,  and  are  appointed  for  a 
term  of  four  years,  subject  to  removal  by  the  Presi- 


44  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

dent.  The  district  courts  have  chancery  jurisdic 
tion  in  matters  where  there  is  not  a  plain,  adequate, 
and  complete  remedy  at  law.  (Stat.  of  Min.  ch.  94, 
sec.  1.)  There  are  also  probate  courts.  Each 
county  has  two  justices  of  the  peace,  who  are  elect 
ed  by  the  people.  And  I  cannot  but  remark  how 
much  better  the  practice  is  to  elect  or  appoint  a  few 
justices  of  the  peace  rather  than  to  allow  the  office 
to  be  degraded  by  wholesale  appointments,  as  a 
matter  of  compliment,  according  to  the  usage  too 
common  in  some  Eastern  States.  The  justices  of 
the  peace  have  jurisdiction  in  civil  cases  where  the 
amount  in  question  docs  not  exceed  $100 ;  and 
when  the  amount  at  issue  is  over  $20  either  party 
may  demand  a  jury  of  six  men  to  try  the  case. 
But  there  would  be  little  demand  for  juries  if  all 
magistrates  were  as  competent  as  our  enlightened 
friend  Judge  Russell. 

Special  pleading  never  flourished  much  in  the 
West.  It  was  never  "  a  favorite  with  the  court"  out 
this  way ;  while  the  regard  which  the  lawyers  have 
cherished  for  it  has  been  "  distant  and  respectful." 
It  has  been  laid  on  the  shelf  about  as  effectually  as 
bleeding  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  The  science 
of  special  pleading,  as  it  is  known  in  these  days — 
and  that  in  some  of  the  older  states — exists  in  a 
mitigated  form  from  what  it  did  in  the  days  of  Coke 
and  Hale.  The  opportunities  to  amend,  and  the 
various  barriers  against  admitting  a  multiplicity  of 
pleas,  have  rendered  the  system  so  much  more 


Tilt:  BAH.  45 

rational  than  it  once  was,  that  it  is  doubtful  if  some 
of  the  old  English  worthies  could  now  identify  it. 
Once  a  defendant  could  plead  to  an  action  of  assump- 
sit  just  as  many  defences  as  he  chose  ;  first,  he  could 
deny  the  whole  by  pleading  the  general  issue ;  then 
he  could  plead  the  statute  of  limitations,  infancy, 
accord  and  satisfaction,  and  a  dozen  other  pleas,  by 
which  the  plaintiff  would  be  deprived  of  any  clue  to 
the  real  defence.  I  suppose  it  was  this  practice  of 
formal  lying  which  has  given  rise  to  the  popular 
error  that  a  lawyer  is  in  the  habit  of  lying,  or  is 
obliged  to  lie,  in  his  arguments.  Many  people  do 
not  know  the  difference  between  pleading — which  is 
a  process  in  writing  to  bring  the  parties  to  an  issue — 
and  the  oral  arguments  of  counsel  in  courts.  "  It  is 
ridiculous  to  suppose  that  it  is  easy  or  profitable  for 
lawyers  to  make  false  statements  in  their  arguments. 
The  opposing  counsel  is  ready  to  catch  at  anything 
of  the  kind ;  and  if  he  misstates  the  evidence,  the 
jury  are  aware  of  it ;  while  if  he  states  what  is  not 
law,  the  court  generally  knows  it.  So  there  is  no 
opportunity  for  lying  even  if  a  lawyer  should  be  so 
disposed.  The  practice  in  civil  actions  as  provided 
by  the  statutes  of  Minnesota  is  similar — if  not 
actually  the  same — to  the  New  York  code  of  prac 
tice.  There  is  but  one  form  of  action,  called  an 
action  of  contract.  The  only  pleading  on  the  part 
of  the  plaintiff  is,  1st,  the  complaint ;  2d,  the  reply. 
On  the  part  of  the  defendant,  1st,  demurrer ;  or  2d, 
the  answer.  (Stats,  ch.  70,  sec.  58.)  The  com- 


46  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

plaint  must  contain,  1st,  the  title  of  the  cause, 
specifying  the  name  of  the  court  in  which  the  action 
is  brought  and  the  names  of  the  parties  to  the  action, 
plaintiff  and  defendant ;  2d,  a  statement  of  the  facts 
constituting  the  cause  of  action  in  ordinary  and 
concise  language,  without  repetition,  and  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  enable  a  person  of  common  under 
standing  to  know  what  is  intended ;  3d,  a  demand 
of  the  relief  to  which  the  plaintiff  supposes  himself 
entitled.  If  the  recovery  of  money  be  demanded 
the  amount  must  be  stated.  (Ibid.  sec.  59.) 

While  testifying  my  approval  of  this  code  of  prac 
tice  as  a  whole,  I  cannot  resist  saying  that  in  many 
respects  it  is  not  so  systematic  as  the  Massachusetts 
code,"  which  was  devised  by  Messrs.  Curtis  (now  Mr. 
Justice),  Lord,  and  Chapman.  That  code  is  one  of 
the  best  in  the  world.  And  if  I  may  be  allowed 
one  word  more  about  special  pleading,  I  would  say 
that  there  is  no  branch  of  law  which  will  better 
reward  study.  Without  mentioning  the  practice  in 
the  U.  S.  courts,  which  requires,  certainly,  a  know 
ledge  of  special  pleading,  no  one  can  read  the  old 
English  reports  and  text  books  with  much  profit, 
who  is  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  that  science. 

A  class  of  business  peculiar  to  new  territories  and 
states  arises  from  the  land  laws.  A  great  many 
pre-emption  cases  are  contested  before  the  land  offi 
cers,  in  which  the  services  of  lawyers  are  required. 
This  fact  will  partly  explain  why  there  are,  g'ene- 
rally,  so  many  lawyers  located  in  the  vicinity  of  a 


THE  BAR.  47 

land  office.  In  a  community  that  is  newly  settled 
the  title  to  property  must  often  be  in  dispute ;  and 
however  much  averse  people  may  be  to  going  to  law, 
they  find  it  frequently  indispensable,  if  they  wish  to 
have  their  rights  settled  on  a  firm  basis. 

The  opinion  prevails  almost  universally  in  the  East 
that  a  lawyer  can  do  best  in  the  West.  In  some 
respects  he  can.  If  he  cannot  do  a  good  deal  better, 
he  is  not  compensated  for  going.  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  a  conversation  last  summer  with  one  of  the  most 
eminent  members  of  the  New  York  bar  (Mr.  O'Con 
nor),  on  this  very  subject.  It  was  his  opinion  that 
western  lawyers  begin  sooner  to  enjoy  their  reputa 
tion  than  the  lawyers  in  the  eastern  cities.  This  is 
true  ;  and  results  from  there  being  less  competition 
in  newer  communities.  "  A  lawyer  among  us,"  said 
Mr.  O'Connor,  "  seldom  acquires  eminence  till  he 
begins  to  turn  gray."  Nevertheless,  there  is  no 
field  so  great  and  so  certain  in  the  long  run,  in  which 
one  may  become  really  a  great  lawyer,  as  in  some 
of  our  large  commercial  cities,  whether  of  the  East 
or  the  West.  To  admit  of  the  highest  professional 
eminence  there  must  be  a  large  and  varied  business; 
and  a  lawyer  must  devote  himself  almost  exclusively 
to  law.  And  then,  when  this  great  reputation  is 
acquired,  what  does  it  amount  to  ?  Something  now, 
but  not  much  hereafter.  The  great  lawyer  lives  a 
life  of  toil  and  excitement.  Often  does  it  seem  to 
"break  on  the  fragments  of  a  reviving  dream." 
His  nerves  are  worn  by  the  troubles  of  others ;  for 


48  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTA II. 

the  exercise  of  the  profession,  as  has  been  said  by 
a  brilliant  lawyer,  "  involves  intimate  participation 
with  the  interests,  hopes,  fears,  passions,  affections, 
and  vicissitudes  of  many  lives."  And  yet  merely 
as  a  lawyer,  he  seldom  leaves  any  durable  vestige 
of  his  fame  behind  him — hardly  a  fortune.  But  if 
his  fame  is  transient  and  mortal,  there  is  some  equi 
valent  in  the  pleasure  of  triumph  and  the  conscious 
ness  of  power.  There  is  no  man  so  powerful  as  the 
great  lawyer.  The  wealth  and  the  character  of  his 
fellow  men  often  depend  upon  him.  His  clients  are 
sometimes  powerful  corporations,  or  cities,  or  states. 
Crowded  courts  listen  to  his  eloquence  year  after 
year  ;  and  no  one  has  greater  freedom  of  speech 
than  he.  The  orator  and  politician  may  be  wafted 
into  a  conspicuous  place  for  a  brief  period,  and  fall 
again  when  popular  favor  has  cooled ;  yet  the  lawyer 
is  rising  still  higher,  nor  can  the  rise  and  fall  of 
parties  shake  him  from  his  high  pedestal ;  for  the 
tenure  of  his  power  is  not  limited.  He  is,  too,  one 
of  the  most  serviceable  protectors  of  the  liberties  of 
his  country.  It  was  as  a  lawyer  that  Otis  thundered 
against  writs  of  assistance.  The  fearless  zeal  of 
Somers,  in  defence  of  the  seven  bishops,  fanned  the 
torch  of  liberty  at  the  beginning  of  the  great  Eng 
lish  revolution.  Erskine  and  Brougham  did  more 
as  lawyers  to  promote  freedom  of  the  press,  than 
as  statesmen. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  inserting  here  Mr.  Justice 
Talfourd's  interesting  analysis  of  the  professional 


THE  BAR.  49 

abilities  of  Follett :  "  It  may  be  well,  while  the  ma 
terials  for  investigation  remain,  to  inquire  into  the 
causes  of  success,  so  brilliant  and  so  fairly  attained 
by  powers  which  have  left  so  little  traces  of  their 
progress.  Erskine  was  never  more  decidedly  at  the 
head  of  the  common  law  bar  than  Follett ;  com 
pared  with  Follett  he  was  insignificant  in  the  house 
of  commons  ;  his  career  was  chequered  by  vanities 
and  weaknesses  from  which  that  of  Follett  was  free ; 
and  yet  even  if  he  had  not  been  associated  with  the 
greatest  constitutional  questions  of  his  time  and 
their  triumphant  solution,  his  fame  would  live  by 
the  mere  force  and  beauty  of  his  forensic  eloquence 
as  long  as  our  language.  But  no  collection  of  the 
speeches  of  Follett  has  been  made ;  none  will  ever 
be  attempted ;  no  speech  he  delivered  is  read,  ex 
cept  perchance  as  part  of  an  interesting  trial,  and 
essential  to  its  story,  and  then  the  language  is  felt 
to  be  poor,  the  cadences  without  music,  and  the 
composition  vapid  and  spiritless ;  although,  if  studied 
with  a  view  to  the  secrets  of  forensic  success,  with 
a  '  learned  spirit  of  human  dealing,'  in  connexion 
with  the  facts  developed  and  the  difficulties  encoun 
tered,  will  supply  abundant  materials  for  admiration 
of  that  unerring  skill  which  induced  the  repetition 
of  fortunate  topics,  the  dexterous  suppression  of  the 
most  stubborn  things  when  capable  of  oblivion,  and 
the  light  evasive  touch  with  which  the  speaker  ful 
filled  his  promise  of  not  forgetting  others  which 
could  not  be  passed  over,  but  which,  if  deeply  con- 


50  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

sidered,  might  be  fatal.  If,  however,  there  was  no 
principle  of  duration  in  his  forensic  achievements, 
there  can  be  doubt  of  the  esteem  in  which  they  were 
held  or  the  eagerness  with  which  they  were  sought. 
His  supremacy  in  the  minds  of  clients  was  more 
like  the  rage  of  a  passion  for  a  youthful  Roscius  or 
an  extraordinary  preacher,  than  the  result  of  deli 
berate  consideration ;  and  yet  it  prevailed,  in  ques 
tions  not  of  an  evening's  amusement,  but  of  penury 
or  riches,  honor  or  shame.  Suitors  were  content, 
not  only  to  make  large  sacrifices  for  the  assured 
advantage  of  his  advocacy,  but  for  the  bare  chance 
— the  distant  hope — of  having  some  little  part  (like 
that  which  Phormio  desires  to  retain  in  Thais)  of 
his  faculties,  with  the  certainty  of  preventing  their 
opposition.  There  was  no  just  ground,  in  his  case, 
for  the  complaint  that  he  received  large  fees  for 
services  he  did  not  render ;  for  the  chances  were 
understood  by  those  who  adventured  in  his  lottery; 
in  which  after  all  there  were  comparatively  few 
blanks.  His  name  was  '  a  tower  of  strength,'  which 
it  was  delightful  to  know  that  the  adverse  faction 
wanted,  and  which  inspired  confidence  even  on  the 
back  of  the  brief  of  his  forsaken  junior,  who  bore 
the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day  for  a  fifth  of  the  fee 
which  secured  that  name.  Will  posterity  ask  what 
were  the  powers  thus  sought,  thus  prized,  thus  re 
warded,  and  thus  transient?  They  will  be  truly 
told  that  he  was  endowed,  in  a  remarkable  degree, 
with  some  moral  qualities  which  smoothed  his  course 


THE  BAR.  51 

and  charmed  away  opposition,  and  with  some  phy 
sical  advantages  which  happily  set  off  his  intellec 
tual  gifts ;  that  he  was  blessed  with  a  temper  at 
once  gentle  and  even ;  with  a  gracious  manner  and 
a  social  temperament ;  that  he  was  without  jealousy 
of  the  solid  or  showy  talents  of  others,  and  willingly 
gave  them  the  amplest  meed  of  praise ;  that  he 
spoke  with  all  the  grace  of  modesty,  yet  with  the 
assurance  of  perfect  mastery  over  his  subject,  his 
powers,  and  his  audience  ;  and  yet  they  will  scarcely 
recognise  in  these  excellencies  sufficient  reasons  for 
his  extraordinary  success.  To  me,  the  true  secret 
of  his  peculiar  strength  appeared  to  lie  in  the  pos 
session  of  two  powers  which  rarely  co-exist  in  the 
same  mind — extraordinary  subtlety  of  perception 
and  as  remarkable  simplicity  of  execution.  In  the 
first  of  these  faculties — in  the  intuitive  power  of 
common  sense,  which  is  the  finest  essence  of  expe 
rience,  whereby  it  attains  '  to  something  of  prophetic 
strain' — he  excelled  all  his  contemporaries  except 
Lord  Abinger,  with  whom  it  was  more  liable  to  be 
swayed  by  prejudice  or  modified  by  taste,  as  it  was 
adorned  with  happier  graces.  The  perfection  of 
this  faculty  was  remarkably  exemplified  in  the  fleet 
ing  visits  he  often  paid  to  the  trials  of  causes  which 
he  had  left  to  the  conduct  of  his  juniors ;  a  few 
words,  sometimes  a  glance,  sufficed  to  convey  to 
his  mind  the  exact  position  of  complicated  affairs, 
and  enabled  him  to  decide  what  should  be  done  or 
avoided ;  and  where  the  interference  of  any  other 


52  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

advocate  would  have  been  dangerous,  he  often  ren 
dered  good  service,  and,  which  was  more  extraor 
dinary,  never  did  harm.  So  his  unrivalled  aptitude 
for  legal  reasoning,  enabled  him  to  deal  with  autho 
rities  as  he  dealt  with  facts  ;  if  unprepared  for  an 
argument,  he  could  find  its  links  in  the  chaos  of  an 
index,  and  make  an  imposing  show  of  learning  out 
of  a  page  of  Harrison ;  and  with  the  aid  of  the  in 
terruptions  of  the  bench,  which  he  could  as  dexter 
ously  provoke  as  parry,  could  find  the  right  clue  and 
conduct  a  luminous  train  of  reasoning  to  a  trium 
phant  close.  His  most  elaborate  arguments,  though 
not  comparable  in  essence  with  those  of  his  chief 
opponent,  Lord  Campbell — which,  in  comprehen 
sive  outline,  exact  logic,  felicitous  illustration,  and 
harmonious  structure,  excelled  all  others  I  have 
heard — were  delivered  in  tones  so  nicely  adapted 
to  the  minds  and  ears  of  the  judges,  with  an  ear 
nestness  so  winning,  and  a  confidence  so  contagious, 
that  they  made  a  judgment  on  his  side  not  only  a 
necessity,  but  a  pleasure. 

"  The  other  faculty,  to  which,  in  combination  with 
his  subtlety  of  understanding,  the  excellence  of  his 
advocacy  may  be  attributed,  is  one  more  rarely  pos 
sessed — and  scarcely  ever  in  such  association — the 
entire  singleness  of  a  mind  equally  present  in  every 
part  of  a  cause.  If  the  promotion  of  the  interest 
of  the  client  were  an  advocate's  highest  duty,  it 
would  be  another  name  for  the  exactest  virtue ;  and 
inasmuch  as  that  interest  is  not,  like  the  objects  of" 


THE  BAR.  53 

moral  zeal,  fixed  in  character,  but  liable  to  frequent 
change,  the  faculty  of  directing  the  whole  power  of 
the  understanding  to  each  shifting  aspect  of  the 
cause  in  its  minutest  shadowings  without  the  guid 
ance  of  an  inflexible  law,  is  far  more  wonderful,  if 
far  less  noble,  than  a  singleness  of  devotion  to  right. 
It  has  an  integrity  of  its  own,  which  bears  some 
affinity  to  that  honesty  which  Baillie  Nichol  Jarvie 
attributes  to  his  Highland  kinsman.  Such  honesty 
— that  is,  the  entire  devotion  of  all  the  faculties  to 
the  object  for  which  it  was  retained,  without  the 
lapse  of  a  moment's  vanity  or  indolence,  with  un 
limited  vision  and  unceasing  activity — was  Follett's 
beyond  all  other  advocates  of  our  time.  To  the  pre 
sentment  of  truth,  or  sophism,  as  the  cause  might 
require,  he  gave  his  entire  mind  with  as  perfect 
oblivion  of  self  as  the  most  heroic  sufferer  for  prin 
ciple.  The  faculty  which  in  Gladstone,  the  states 
man,  applied  to  realities  and  inspired  only  by  the 
desire  to  discover  the  truth  and  to  clothe  it  in  lan 
guage,  assumes,  in  the  minds  of  superficial  observers, 
the  air  of  casuistry  from  the  nicety  of  its  distinctions 
and  the  earnest  desire  of  the  speaker  to  present  truth 
in  its  finest  shades — in  Follett,  the  advocate,  applied 
indiscriminately  to  the  development  of  the  specious 
shows  of  things  as  of  their  essences,  wore  all  the 
semblance  of  sincerity ;  and,  in  one  sense,  deserved 
it.  No  fears,  no  doubts,  no  scruples  shook  him. 
Of  the  license  which  advocacy  draws  from  sym- 
5* 


54  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

pathy  with  the  feelings  of  those  it  represents, 
he  made  full  use,  with  unhesitating  power ;  for  his 
reason,  of  '  large  discourse,'  was  as  pliable  as  the 
affections  of  the  most  sensitive  nature.  Nor  was  he 
diverted  from  his  aim  by  any  figure  or  fancy :  if  he 
neither  exalted  his  subject  by  imagination,  nor  illus 
trated  it  by  wit,  nor  softened  its  details  by  pathos, 
he  never  made  it  the  subject  of  vain  attempts  at 
the  exhibition  of  either.  He  went  into  the  arena 
stripped  of  all  encumbrance,  to  win,  and  contended 
studious  only  and  always  of  victory.  His  presence 
of  mind  was  not  merely  the  absence  of  external  dis 
traction,  nor  the  capacity  of  calling  up  all  energies 
on  an  emergency,  but  the  continued  application  of 
them  equally  to  the  duty  of  each  moment.  There 
are  few  speakers,  even  of  fervid  sincerity  and  zeal, 
whose  thoughts  do  not  frequently  run  before  or 
beside  the  moment's  purpose ;  whose  wits  do  not 
sometimes  wander  on  to  some  other  part  of  the  case 
than  that  they  are  instantly  discussing  ;  who  do  not 
anticipate  some  future  effect,  or  dally  with  some 
apprehension  of  future  peril,  while  they  should 
consider  only  the  next  word  or  sentence.  This 
momentary  desertion  of  the  exact  purpose  never 
occurred  to  Follett;  he  fitted  the  thought  to  its 
place ;  the  word  to  the  thought ;  and  allowed  the 
action  only  to  take  care  of  itself,  as  it  always  will 
with  an  earnest  speaker.  His,  therefore,  was  rather 
the  artlessness  than  the  art  of  advocacy — its  second 


THE  BAR.  00 

nature — justly  appreciated  by  those  to  whose  inter 
ests  it  was  devoted ;  but  not  fully  understood  even 
by  the  spectator  of  its  exertion ;  dying  with  the 
causes  in  which  it  was  engaged,  and  leaving  no 
vestiges  except  in  their  success.  Hence  the  blank 
which  is  substituted  for  the  space  he  filled  in  human 
affairs.  The  modest  assurance,  the  happy  boldness, 
the  extemporaneous  logic,  all  that  £  led  but  to  the 
grave,'  exist,  like  the  images  of  departed  actors, 
only  in  the  recollection  of  those  who  witnessed  them, 
till  memory  shall  fade  into  tradition,  and  tradition 
dwindle  down  to  a  name."  (Supplement  to  Vacation 
Rambles,  p.  115.)  The  eagerness  with  which  the 
talents  of  Sir  William  Follett  were  sought,  forcibly 
illustrates  the  truth  of  a  remark,  made  to  me  in  the 
course  of  some  friendly  advice,  by  one  who  may  be 
ranked  among  the  most  brilliant  advocates  who  have 
adorned  the  American  Bar  (now  in  the  highest  office 
in  the  nation),  that  to  attain  the  highest  rank  in  the 
legal  profession,  a  lawyer  must  have  such  abilities 
and  character  as  will  "compel"  patronage. 

He,  however,  who  enters  the  profession  here  or 
elsewhere  merely  as  a  stepping  stone  to  political 
preferment,  need  not  expect  great  success,  even 
though  he  may  acquire  some  temporary  advance 
ment.  -The  day  is  past  when  lawyers  could  mo 
nopolize  every  high  place  in  the  state.  The  habit 
of  public  speaking  is  not  now  confined  to  the  learned 
professions.  Our  peculiar  system  of  education  has 


56  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

trained  up  a  legion  of  orators  and  politicians  outside 
of  the  bar.  Now-a-days  a  man  must  have  other 
qualifications  besides  the  faculty  of  speech-making 
to  win  the  prize  in  politics.  He  must  be  a  man  of 
comprehensive  ability,  and  thoroughly  identified  with 
the  interests  of  the  people,  before  he  can  secure 
much  popular  favor,  or  else  he  must  be  possessed  of 
such  shining  talents  and  character  that  his  fellow 
men  will  take  a  pride  in  advancing  him  to  con 
spicuous  and  responsible  trusts.  Let  a  man  have  a 
part  or  all  of  these  qualifications,  however,  and  with 
them  the  experience  and  tact  of  a  -lawyer,  and  he 
will  of  course  make  a  more  valuable  public  servant, 
especially  if  he  is  placed  in  a  deliberative  body. 
The  British  cabinets  have  always  relied  vastly  on 
the  support  afforded  them  in  the  house  of  commons 
by  their  attorneys  and  solicitors  general,  whether  it 
consisted  in  the  severe  and  solemn  logic  of  Romilly, 
in  the  cool  and  ready  arguments  of  Scarlett,  or  the 
acute  and  irresistible  oratory  of  Sir  William  Follett. 
The  education  of  a  lawyer ; — his  experience  as  a 
manager;  his  art  of  covering  up  weak  points  :  his 
ready  and  adroit  style  of  speaking; — all  serve  to 
make  him  peculiarly  valuable  to  his  own  party,  and 
dangerous  to  an  opposition  in  a  deliberative  body. 
But  the  fact  that  a  man  is  a  lawyer  does  not  advance 
him  in  politics  so  much  as  it  once  did.  Fortunate 
it  is  so  !  For  though  learning  will  always  have  its 
advantages,  yet  no  profession  ought  to  have  cxclu- 


TUE  BAH.  57 

sive  privileges.  Nor  need  the  lawyer  repine  that  it 
is  so,  inasmuch  as  it  is  for  his  benefit,  if  he  desires 
success  in  the  profession,  to  discard  the  career  of 
politics.  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  and  he  can 
aftbrd  to  wait  for  the  legitimate  honors  of  the  bar. 
i  will  conclude  by  saying  that  I  regard  Minnesota 
as  a  good  field  for  an  upright,  industrious,  and  com 
petent  lawyer.  For  those  of  an  opposite  class,  I 
have  never  yet  heard  of  a  very  promising  field. 


LETTER   V. 

ST.  PAUL  TO  CROW  WING  IN  TWO  DAYS. 

Stages— Roads — Rum  River — Indian  treaty — Itasca — Sauk  Rapids — 
Watab  at  midnight — Lodging  under  difficulties — Little  Rock  River 
— Character  of  Minnesota  streams — Dinner  at  Swan  River — Little 
Falls— Fort  Ripley— Arrival  at  Crow  Wing. 

CROW  WING,  October,  1856. 

HERE  I  am,  after  two  days  drive  in  a  stage,  at 
the  town  of  Crow  Wing,  one  hundred  and  thirty 
miles,  a  little  west  of  north,  from  St.  Paul.  I  will 
defer,  however,  any  remarks  on  Crow  Wing,  or  the 
many  objects  of  interest  hereabout,  till  I  have  men 
tioned  a  few  things  which  I  saw  coming  up. 

Between  St.  Paul  and  this  place  is  a  tri-weekly 
line  of  stages.  The  coaches  are  of  Concord  manu 
facture,  spacious  and  comfortable;  and  the  entire 
equipage  is  well  adapted  to  the  convenience  of  tra 
vellers.  Next  season,  the  enterprising  proprietors, 
Messrs.  Chase  and  Allen,  who  carry  the.  mail,  intend 
establishing  a  daily  line.  1  left  the  Fuller  House 
in  the  stage  at  about  five  in  the  morning.  There 
was  only  a  convenient  number  of  passengers  till  we 
arrived  at  St.  Anthony,  where  we  breakfasted ;  but 
then  our  load  was  more  than  doubled,  and  we  drove 
out  with  nine  inside  and  about  seven  outside,  with 

(58) 


ST.  PAUL  TO  CROW  WING  IN  TWO  DAYS.     59 

any  quantity  of  baggage.  The  road  is  very  level 
and  smooth ;  and  with  the  exception  of  encounter 
ing  a  few  small  stumps  where  the  track  has  been 
diverted  for  some  temporary  impediment,  and  also 
excepting  a  few  places  where  it  is  exceedingly  sandy, 
it  is  an  uncommonly  superior  road.  It  is  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  was  laid  out 
very  straight.  But  let  me  remark  that  everybody 
who  travels  it  seems  conscious  that  it  is  a  govern 
ment  road.  There  are  several  bridges,  and  they  are 
often  driven  over  at  a  rapid  rate,  much  to  their 
damage.  "When  Minnesota  shall  have  a  state  gov 
ernment,  and  her  towns  or  counties  become  liable 
for  the  condition  of  the  roads,  people  will  doubtless 
be  more  economical  of  the  bridges,  even  though  the 
traveller  be  not  admonished  to  walk  his  horse,  or  to 
"keep  to  the  right,"  &c. 

Emerging  from  St.  Anthony,  the  undulating 
aspect  of  the  country  ceases,  and  we  enter  upon  an 
almost  unbroken  plain.  A  leading  characteristic  of 
the  scenery  is  the  thin  forests  of  oak,  commonly 
called  oak  openings.  The  soil  appears  to  be  rich. 

Seven  miles  from  St.  Anthony  is  a  tidy  settle 
ment  called  MMMMB,  near  the  mouth  of  Rice  river. 
But  the  first  place  of  importance  which  we  reached 
is  Anoka,  a  large  and  handsome  village  situated  on 
Rum  river.  It  is  twenty-five  miles  from  St.  Paul. 
The  river  is  a  large  and  beautiful  stream  and  affords 
good  water-power,  in  the  development  of  which 
Anoka  appears  to  thrive.  A  vast  number  of  pine 


60  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTA  II. 

logs  are  annually  floated  down  the  river  arid  sawed 
into  lumber  at  the  Anoka  mills.  The  settlers  are 
principally  from  Maine.  By  the  treaty  of  22d  Feb 
ruary,  1855,  with  three  bands  of  the  Chippewa  In 
dians,  an  appropriation  of  $5000  was  set  apart  for 
the  construction  of  a  road  from  the  mouth  of  Rum 
river  to  Mille  Lac.  The  road  is  half  completed. 

We  took  an  early  dinner  at  Itasca,  having  come 
thirty-two  miles.  Itasca  is  quite  an  unassuming 
place,  and  not  so  pretty  as  its  name.  But  I  shall 
always  cherish  a  good-will  for  the  spot,  inasmuch  as 
I  got  a  first-rate  dinner  there.  It  was  all  put  upon 
the  table  before  we  sat  down,  so  that  each  one  could 
help  himself;  and  as  it  consisted  of  very  palatable 
edibles,  each  one  did  help  himself  quite  liberally. 
We  started  on  soon  afterwards,  with  a  new  driver 
and  the  third  set  of  horses ;  but  with  the  disagree 
able  consciousness  that  we  had  still  before  us  the 
largest  part  of  the  day's  journey.  In  about  three 
hours  we  came  to  Big  Lake,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  Humboldt.  The  lake  is  anything  but  a  big 
lake,  being  the  size  of  a  common  New  England 
pond.  But  then  all  such  sheets  of  water  are  called 
lakes  in  this  part  of  the  country.  It  is  a  clear  body 
of  water,  abounding  with  fine  fish,  and  has  a  beau 
tiful  shore  of  pebbles.  Several  similar  sheets  of 
water  are  passed  on  the  journey,  the  shores  of  which 
present  a  naked  appearance.  There  is  neither  the 
trace  of  a  stream  leading  from  or  to  them,  nor,  with 
few  exceptions,  even  a  swamp  in  their  vicinity. 


ST.   PAUL  TO  CROW*  WING  IN  TWO  DAYS.  01 

Sauk  Rapids  is  44  miles  from  Itasca,  and  it  was 
late  when  we  reached  there.  But,  late  as  it  was, 
we  found  a  large  collection  of  people  at  the  post 
office  waiting  for  the  mail.  They  appeared  to  have 
had  a  caucus,  and  were  discussing  politics  with  much 
animation.  There  is  at  Sauk  Rapids  a  local  land 
office.  That  is  of  more  advantage  to  a  place  than 
being  the  county  seat.  In  a  short  time,  however, 
some  of  the  land  offices  will  be  removed  further 
west  for  the  convenience  of  settlers.  The  village 
is  finely  situated  on  rising  ground,  and  contains 
some  handsome  residences. 

It  was  midnight  when  we  arrived  at  Watab,  where 
we  were  to  lodge.  The  weather  had  been  delightful 
during  the  day,  but  after  nightfall  a  high  wind  rose 
and  filled  the  air  with  dust.  I  descended  from  the 
stage — for  I  had  rode  upon  the  outside — with  self- 
satisfied  emotions  of  having  come  eighty-two  miles 
since  morning.  The  stage-house  was  crowded.  It 
is  a  two-story  building,  the  rooms  of  which  are  small. 
I  went  to  bed,  I  was  about  to  say,  without  any  sup 
per.  But  that  was  not  so.  I  didn't  get  any  supper, 
it  is  true,  neither  did  I  get  a  bed,  for  they  were  all 
occupied.  The  spare  room  on  the  floor  was  also 
taken.  The  proprietor,  however,  was  accommodat 
ing,  and  gave  me  a  sort  of  a  lounge  in  rather  a  small 
room  where  three  or  four  other  men,  and  a  dog, 
were  sleeping  on  the  floor.  I  fixed  the  door  ajar 
for  ventilation,  and  with  my  overcoat  snugly  but 
toned  around  me,  though  it  was  not  cold,  addressed 
6 


62  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

myself  to  sleep.  In  the  morning  I  found  that  one 
of  the  occupants  was  an  ex-alderman  from  the  fifth 
ward  of  New  York ;  and  that  in  the  room  over  me 
slept  no  less  a  personage  than  Parker  H.  French. 
I  say  I  ascertained  these  facts  in  the  morning.  Mr. 
French  came  to  Watab  a  few  weeks  ago  with  a  com 
pany  of  mechanics,  and  has  been  rushing  the  place 
ahead  with  great  zeal.  He  appears  to  make  a  good 
impression  on  the  people  of  the  town. 

A  heavy  rain  had  fallen  during  the  night ;  the 
stage  was  but  moderately  loaded,  and  I  started  out 
from  Watab,  after  breakfast  the  next  morning,  in 
bright  spirits.  Still  the  road  is  level,  and  at  a  slow 
trot  the  team  makes  better  time  than  a  casual  ob 
server  is  conscious  of.  Soon  we  came  to  Little  Rock 
River,  which  is  one  of  the  crookedest  streams  that 
was  ever  known  of.  We  are  obliged  to  cross  it  twice 
within  a  short  space.  Twelve  miles  this  side  we 
cross  the  beautiful  Platte  River.  It  would  make 
this  letter  much  more  monotonous  than  it  is,  I  fear, 
were  I  to  name  all  the  rivers  we  pass.  They  are 
very  numerous :  and  as  they  increase  the  delight 
of  the  traveller,  so  are  they  also  a  delight  and  a 
convenience  to  the  settler.  Like  the  rivers  of  New 
England,  they  are  clear  and  rapid,  and  furnish 
abundant  means  for  water-power.  The  view  which 
we  catch  of  the  Mississippi  is  frequent,  but  brief, 
as  the  road  crosses  its  curves  in  the  most  direct 
manner.  Much  of  the  best  land  on  either  side  of 


ST.  PAUL  TO  CHOW  WING  IN  TWO  DAYS.  03 

the  road  is  in  the  hands  of  speculators,  who  pur 
chased  it  at  public  sale,  or  afterwards  plastered  it 
over  with  land  warrants.  There  is  evidence  of  this 
on  the  entire  route  ;  for,  although  we  pass  populous 
villages,  and  a  great  many  splendid  farms,  the 
greater  part  of  the  land  is  still  unoccupied.  The 
soil  is  dark  colored,  but  in  some  places  quite  mealy  ; 
everywhere  free  from  stones,  and  susceptible  of  easy 
cultivation. 

We  arrived  at  Swan  River  at  about  one  o'clock, 
where  we  dined  on  wild  ducks.  That  is  a  village 
also  of  considerable  importance ;  but  it  is  not  so 
large  as  Little  Falls,  which  is  three  miles  this  side. 
At  that  place  the  Mississippi  furnishes  a  good  water- 
power.  It  has  a  spacious  and  tidy  hotel,  several 
stores,  mechanics'  shops,  a  saw-mill,  &c.  At  Belle 
Prairie  we  begin  to  see  something  of  the  Chippewas. 
The  half-breeds  have  there  some  good  farms,  and 
the  school-house  and  the  church  denote  the  progress 
of  civilization.  It  was  near  sunset  when  we  reach 
ed  Fort  Ripley.  The  garrison  stands  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  .Mississippi,  but  the  reservation  extends 
several  miles  on  both  sides.  The  stage  crosses  the 
river  on  the  ferry  to  leave  the  mail  and  then  re 
turns.  The  great  flag  was  still  flying  from  the  high 
staff,  and  had  an  inspiring  influence.  Like  most  of 
our  inland  military  posts,  Fort  Ripley  has  no  stone 
fortifications.  It  is  neatly  laid  out  in  a  square, 
and  surrounded  by  a  high  protective  fence.  Three 


64  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

or  four  field-pieces  stand  upon  the  bank  of  the 
river  fronting  it,  and  at  some  distance  present  a 
warlike  attitude.  The  rest  of  the  trip,  being  about 
five  miles,  was  over  the  reservation,  on  which,  till 
we  come  to  Crow  Wing,  are  no  settlements.  Here 
I  gladly  alighted  from  the  coach,  and  found  most 
comfortable  and  agreeable  entertainment  at  a  house 
which  stands  on  the  immediate  bank  of  the  river. 


LETTER  VI. 

THE  TOWN  OF  CROW  WING. 

Scenery — First  settlement  of  Crow  Wing — Red  Lake  Indians — Mr. 
Morrison — Prospects  of  the  town — Upper  navigation — Mr.  Beau- 
lieu — Washington's  theory  as  to  Norfolk — Observations  on  the 
growth  of  towns. 

CROW  WING,  October,  1856. 

I  AM  highly  gratified  with  the  appearance  of  this 
place.  Mr.  Burke  says — "  In  order  that  we 
should  love  our  country,  our  country  should  first  be 
lovely,"  and  there  is  much  wisdom  in  the  remark. 
Nature  has  done  so  much  for  this  locality  that  one 
could  be  contented  to  live  here  on  quite  a  moderate 
income.  The  land  is  somewhat  elevated,  near  the 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  affording  a  pleasant  view 
over  upon  the  western  side,  both  above  and  below 
the  two  graceful  mouths  of  the  Crow  Wing  River. 
Towards  the  east  and  north,  after  a  few  miles,  the 
view  is  intercepted  by  a  higher  ridge  of  land  covered 
with  timber ;  or,  by  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi 
itself,  as  from  this  point  we  begin  to  ascend  it  in  a 
northeasterly  course. 

Crow  Wing  was  selected  as  a  trading  post  up 
wards  of  twenty  years  ago.  Mr.  McDonnald,  who 
0*  (65) 


66  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

still  resides  here,  was,  I  believe,  the  first  white  set 
tler.  Till  within  a  recent  period  it  was  the  head 
quarters  of  the  Mississippi  tribe  of  Chippewas,  and 
the  principal  trading  depot  with  the  Chippewas 
generally.  Here  they  brought  their  furs,  the  fruits 
of  their  buffalo  and  their  winter  hunts,  and  their 
handicraft  of  beads  and  baskets,  to  exchange  for 
clothing  and  for  food.  Thus  the  place  was  located 
and  settled  on  long  before  there  was  a  prospect  of 
its  becoming  a  populous  town.  Mr.  Rice,  the  dele 
gate  in  congress,  if  I  mistake  not,  once  had  a  branch 
store  here  with  several  men  in  his  employ.  The 
principal  traders  at  present  are  Mr.  Abbee  and  Mr. 
Beaulieu,  who  have  large  and  well  selected  stocks 
of  goods.  The  present  population  of  white  persons 
probably  numbers  a  hundred  souls.  The  place  now 
has  a  more  populous  appearance  on  account  of  the 
presence  of  a  caravan  of  Red  Lake  Indians,  who 
have  come  down  about  four  hundred  miles  to  trade. 
They  are  encamped  round  about  in  tents  or  birch 
bark  lodges,  as  it  may  happen  to  be.  In  passing 
some  of  them,  I  saw  the  squaws  busily  at  work  on 
the  grass  outside  of  the  lodge  in  manufacturing  flag 
carpets.  The  former  Indian  residents  are  now  re 
moved  to  their  reservation  in  the  fork  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  Crow  Wing  rivers,  where  their  agency 
is  now  established. 

The  houses  here  are  very  respectable  in  size,  and 
furnished  in  metropolitan  style  and  elegance.  The 
farms  are  highly  productive,  and  the  grazing  for 


THE  TOWN  OF  CROW  WING.  67 

stock  unequalled.  There  is  a  good  ferry  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  town,  at  a  point  where  the  river  is 
quite  narrow  and  deep.  You  can  be  taken  over 
with  a  horse  for  twenty-five  cents ;  with  a  carriage, 
I  suppose,  the  tariff  is  higher. 

Perhaps  one  cause  of  my  favorable  impression  of 
Crow  Wing  is  the  excellent  and  home-like  hotel  ac 
commodations  which  I  have  found.  The  proprietor 
hardly  assumes  to  keep  a  public-house,  and  yet  pro 
vides  his  guests  with  very  good  entertainment ;  and 
I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  that  there  is  no  public- 
house  this  side  of  St.  Paul  where  the  traveller  will 
be  better  treated.  Mr.  Morrison — for  that  is  the 
proprietor's  name — came  here  fifteen  years  ago, 
having  first  come  into  this  region  in  the  service  of 
John  Jacob  Astor.  He  married  one  of  the  hand 
somest  of  the  Chippewa  maidens,  who  is  now  his 
faithful  wife  and  housekeeper,  and  the  mother  of 
several  interesting  and  amiable  children.  Mr.  M. 
is  the  postmaster.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
territorial  legislature,  and  his  name  has  been  given 
to  a  large  and  beautiful  county.  I  judge  that  soci 
ety  has  been  congenial  in  the  town.  The  little 
church,  standing  on  an  eminence,  indicates  some 
union  of  sentiment  at  least,  and  a  regard  for  the 
higher  objects  of  life.  Spring  and  summer  and 
autumn  must  be  delightful  seasons  here,  and  bring 
with  them  the  sweetest  tranquillity.  Nor  are  the 
people  shut  out  from  the  world  in  winter ;  for  then 
there  is  travel  and  intercourse  and  traffic.  So  are 


68  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

there  pleasures  and  recreation  peculiar  to  the  sea 
son. 

But  the  serene  and  quiet  age  of  the  settlement  is 
near  its  close.  Enterprise  and  speculation,  with 
their  bustle  and  turmoil,  have  laid  hold  of  it.  The 
clank  of  the  hammer,  the  whistle  of  steamboats,  the 
rattling  of  carts,  heaps  of  lumber  and  of  bricks, 
excavations  and  gradings,  short  corners  and  rough 
unshapen  walks,  will  usurp  the  quiet  and  the  regu 
larity  of  the  place.  Indeed  a  man  ought  to  make 
a  fortune  to  compensate  for  residing  in  a  town  dur 
ing  the  first  years  of  its  rapid  building.  The  streets 
appear,  on  the  map,  to  be  well  laid  out.  A  number 
of  purchasers  of  lots  are  preparing  to  build  ;  and  a 
few  new  buildings  are  already  going  up.  As  near 
as  I  am  able  to  learn,  the  things  which  conduce  to 
its  availability  as  a  business  place  are  these — First, 
it  is  the  beginning  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  naviga 
tion.  From  this  point  steamboats  can  go  from  two 
to  three  hundred  miles.  But  they  cannot  pass  be 
low,  on  account  of  the  obstructions  near  Fort  Ripley, 
at  Little  Falls,  and  at  Sauk  Rapids.  This  of  course 
is  a  great  element  in  its  future  success,  as  the  coun 
try  above  in  the  valley  of  the  river  is  destined  to 
be  thickly  settled,  and  boats  will  run  between  this 
point  and  the  settlements  along  the  river.  It  will 
also  be  a  large  lumber  market,  for  the  pine  forests 
begin  here  and  extend  along  the  river  banks  for 
hundreds  of  miles,  while  the  facility  of  getting  the 
logs  down  is  unexceptionable.  The  territory  north 


THE  TOWN  OF  CROW  WING.  69 

of  Crow  Wing  is  now  open  for  settlers  to  a  great 
distance,  the  Indian  title  having  been  extinguished. 
Two  land  districts  have  also  been  established,  which 
will  be  an  inducement  for  fresh  emigration.  There 
is  no  other  place  but  this  to  supply  these  settle 
ments  ;  at  least  none  so  convenient.  A  great  deal 
of  timber  will  also  come  down  the  Crow  Wing  River, 
which  is  a  large  stream,  navigable  three  months  in 
the  year.  Arrangements  are  complete  for  building  a 
steamboat  the  ensuing  winter,  at  this  very  place,  to 
begin  running  in  the  spring  as  far  up  as  Ojibeway. 
Next  season  there  will  be  a  daily  line  of  stages  be 
tween  this  and  St.  Paul.  I  understand  also  that  it 
is  intended  next  summer  to  connect  Crow  Wing 
with  the  flourishing  town  of  Superior  by  stage.  It 
will  require  considerable  energy  to  do  this  thing ; 
but  if  it  can  be  done,  it  will  be  a  great  blessing  to 
the  traveller  as  well  as  a  profit  to  the  town.  The 
journey  from  St.  Paul  to  Lake  Superior  via  Crow 
Wing  can  then  be  performed  in  three  days,  while  on 
the  usual  route  it  now  occupies  a  week.  Such  are 
some  of  the  favorable  circumstances  which  corrobo 
rate  the  expectation  of  the  growth  of  this  place. 
The  southern  or  lower  portion  of  the  town  is  in 
cluded  within  the  Fort  Ripley  reserve,  and  though 
several  residences  are  situated  on  it,  no  other  build 
ings  can  be  put  up  without  a  license  from  the  com 
manding  officer ;  nor  can  any  lots  be  sold  from  that 
portion  until  the  reserve  is  cut  down.  With  the 
upper  part  of  the  town  it  is  different.  Mr.  C.  H. 


70  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

Beaulieu,  long  a  resident  of  the  place,  is  the  pro 
prietor  of  that  part,  and  has  already,  I  am  informed, 
made  some  extensive  sales  of  lots.  He  is  one  of 
those  lucky  individuals,  who  have  sagacity  to  locate 
on  an  available  spot,  and  patience  to  wait  the  open 
ing  of  a  splendid  fortune.1 

My  observation  and  experience  in  regard  to  town 
sites  have  taught  me  an  important  fact :  that  as  much 
depends  on  the  public  spirit,  unity  of  action,  and  zeal 
of  the  early  proprietors,  as  upon  the  locality  itself. 
The  one  is  useless  without  these  helps.  General 
Washington  wrote  an  able  essay  to  prove  the  avail 
ability  of  Norfolk,  Va.,  as  the  great  commercial 
metropolis  of  the  country.  He  speculated  upon  its 
being  the  great  market  for  the  West.  His  imagina 
tion  pictured  out  some  such  place  as  New  York  now 
is,  as  its  future.  The  unequalled  harbor  of  Norfolk, 
and  the  resources  of  the  country  all  around  it,  ex 
tending  as  far,  almost,  as  thought  could  reach,  might 
well  have  encouraged  the  theory  of  Washington. 
But  munificence  and  energy  and  labor  have  built  up 
many  cities  since  then,  which  had  not  half  the 
natural  advantages  of  Norfolk,  while  Norfolk  is  far 
behind.  A  little  lack  of  enterprise,  a  little  lack  of 
harmony  and  liberality,  may,  in  the  early  days  of 
a  town,  divert  business  and  improvements  from  a 
good  location,  till  in  a  short  time  an  unheard-of  and 

1  Since  this  letter  was  written,  Mr.  Thomas  Cathcarthas  purchased 
a  valuable  claim  opposite  Crow  Wing  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
which  I  should  think  was  an  available  town  site. 


THE  TOWN  OF  CROW  WING.  71 

inferior  place  totally  eclipses  it.  Knowing  this  to 
be  the  case,  I  have  been  careful  in  my  previous  let 
ters  not  to  give  too  much  importance  to  many  of  the 
town  sites  which  have  been  commended  to  me  along 
my  journey.  I  do  not  discover  any  of  these  retard 
ing  circumstances  about  Crow  Wing.  I  must  con 
clude  at  this  paragraph,  however,  in  order  to  take 
a  horseback  ride  to  the  Chippewa  agency.  In  my 
next  I  intend  to  say  something  about  the  Indians, 
pine  timber,  and  the  country  above  here  in  general. 


LETTER    VII. 

CHIPPEWA  INDIANS.— HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. 

Description  of  the  Chippewa  tribes — Their  habits  and  customs — 
Mission  at  Gull  Lake — Progress  in  farming — Visit  to  Hole-in- 
the-day — His  enlightened  character — Reflections  on  Indian  cha 
racter,  and  the  practicability  of  their  civilization — Their  educa 
tion — Mr.  Manypenny's  exertions. 

CROW  WING,  October,  1856. 

I  CONSIDER  myself  exceedingly  fortunate  in  hav 
ing  had  a  good  opportunity  for  observing  the  con 
dition  of  the  Chippewa  Indians.  Sometime  ago  I 
saw  enough  of  the  Indians  in  another  part  of  the 
country  to  gratify  my  curiosity  as  to  their  appear 
ance  and  habits ;  and  as  I  have  always  felt  a  pecu 
liar  interest  in  their  destiny,  my  present  observations 
have  been  with  a  view  to  derive  information  as  to 
the  best  means  for  their  improvement.  The  whole 
number  of  Chippewas  in  Minnesota  is  not  much  over 
2200.  They  are  divided  into  several  bands,  each 
band  being  located  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
other.  The  Mississippi  band  live  on  their  reserva 
tion,  which  begins  a  few  miles  above  here  across  the 
river,  while  the  Pillagor  and  Lake  Winnibigoshish 
bands  are  some  three  hundred  miles  further  north. 
The  agency  of  the  Chippewas  is  on  the  reservation 

(72) 


THE  CUIPPEWA  INDIANS.  73 

referred  to,  a  little  north  of  the  Crow  Wing  River, 
and  six  miles  distant  from  this  town.  To  come 
down  more  to  particulars,  however,  and  adopt  words 
which  people  here  would  use,  I  might  say  that  the 
agency  is  on  Gull  River,  a  very  clear  and  pretty 
stream,  which  flows  from  a  lake  of  that  name,  into 
the  Crow  Wing.  I  passed  the  agency  yesterday, 
and  two  miles  beyond,  in  order  to  visit  Pug-o-na- 
ke-shick,  or  Hole-in-the-day,  the  principal  and 
hereditary  chief  of  the  Chippewas.  Mr.  Herriman, 
the  agent,  resides  at  the  agency,  in  compliance  with 
the  regulation  of  the  Indian  bureau,  which  requires 
agents  to  reside  among  the  Indians.  I  strongly 
suspect  there  are  many  people  who  would  think  it 
unsafe  to  travel  alone  among  the  Chippewas.  But 
people  who  live  about  here  would  ridicule  the  idea 
of  being  afraid  of  violence  or  the  slightest  molesta 
tion  from  them,  unless  indeed  the  fellows  were 
intoxicated.  For  my  part,  a  walk  on  Boston  com 
mon  on  a  summer  morning  could  not  seem  more 
quiet  and  safe  than  a  ramble  on  horseback  among 
the  homes  of  these  Indians.  I  spoke  to  a  good 
many.  Though  naturally  reserved  and  silent,  they 
return  a  friendly  salutation  with  a  pleasant  smile. 

Their  old  costume  is  still  retained  as  a  general 
thing.  The  blanket  is  still  worn  instead  of  coats. 
Sometimes  the  men  wear  leggins,  but  often  go  with 
their  legs  naked.  A  band  is  generally  worn  upon 
the  head  with  some  ornament  upon  it.  A  feather 
of  the  war  eagle  worn  in  the  head-band  of  a  brave, 


<  1  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

denotes  that  he  has  taken  the  scalp  of  an  enemy  or 
performed  some  rare  feat  of  daring.  An  Indian 
does  not  consider  himself  in  full  dress  without  his 
•war  hatchet  or  weapons.  I  meet  many  with  long- 
stemmed  pipes,  which  are  also  regarded  as  an  orna 
mental  part  of  dress.  They  appear  pleased  to  have 
anything  worn  about  them  attract  attention.  They 
are  of  good  size,  taller  than  the  Winnebagoes,  and 
of  much  lighter  complexion  than  tribes  living  five 
hundred  miles  further  south.  Herein  the  philosopher 
on  the  cooking  of  men  is  confirmed.  Their  hair  is 
black,  long,  and  straight ;  and  some  are  really  good- 
looking.  There  are  but  few  who  still  paint.  Those 
in  mourning  paint  their  faces  black.  What  I  have 
seen  of  their  houses  raises  high  hopes  of  their  ad 
vancement  in  civilization.  We  can  now  begin  to 
lay  aside  the  word  lodge  and  say  house.  Over  a 
year  ago,  Mr.  Herriman  promised  every  one  a  good 
cooking  stove  who  would  build  himself  a  comfortable 
house.  This  promise  had  a  good  eifect,  for  several 
houses  were  built.  But  the  want  of  windows  and 
several  other  conveniences,  which  are  proper  fix 
tures,  gives  their  dwellings  a  desolate  appearance 
to  one  who  looks  to  a  higher  standard  of  comfort. 
Of  course  I  saw  a  few  of  the  men  at  the  store  (for 
there  is  a  store  at  the  agency),  spending  their  time, 
as  too  many  white  men  do  in  country  villages. 
Eight  miles  beyond  the  agency,  on  Gull  Lake,  is  a 
mission.  It  has  been  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  J. 
L.  Breck,  a  gentleman  of  high  culture,  and  whose 


THE  (JillPPEWA  INDIANS.  7 '3 

enlightened  and  humane  exertions  in  behalf  of  the 
Indians  have  received  much  commendation  both 
from  the  agent  and  Gov.  Gorman,  the  Superin 
tendent.  He  has  been  at  the  mission  four  years. 
While  he  had  the  benefit  of  the  school-fund,  he  had 
in  his  school,  under  his  own  roof,  35  pupils  ;  since 
that  was  withheld,  the  number  of  pupils  has  been 
'I'l.  Mr.  Breck  will  soon  remove  to  Leech  Lake, 
and  will  be  succeeded  by  a  gentleman  who  comes 
well  recommended  from  a  theological  institution  in 
Wisconsin.  I  desired  very  much  to  go  as  far  as 
the  mission,  but  from  Crow  Wing  and  back  it  would 
have  been  thirty  miles,  and  it  was  otherwise  incon 
venient  on  account  of  the  rain.  The  Indians  are 
beginning  to  farm  a  little.  They  begin  with  gar 
dens.  Their  support  is  chiefly  from  the  annuities 
paid  by  the  United  States,  which  are  principally 
received  in  some  sort  of  dry  goods.  The  goods  are 
furnished  by  contract,  and  the  price  paid  for  them 
is  about  enough,  if  all  stories  are  true.  They  also 
derive  some  support  from  their  fur  hunts  and  by  fish 
ing.  Buffaloes  are  still  hunted  successfully  beyond 
the  Red  River  of  the  North.  They  bring  home  the 
furs,  and  also  the  best  parts  of  the  meat.  The 
moat  is  preserved  by  being  partially  cooked  in  buf 
falo  fat,  cut  into  small  pieces.,  and  sewed  up  very 
tight  in  the  hide  of  the  animal.  It  is  called  pem- 
mican,  and  sells  here  for  twenty-five  cents  a  pound. 
It  is  broken  to  pieces  like  pork  scraps,  and  the 
Indians  regard  it  as  a  great  luxury. 


7(3  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

From  the  agency  I  hastened  on  to  see  Hole-in- 
the-day  (Pug-o:na-ke-shick,  his  Indian  name,  means, 
literally,  Hole-in-the-sky}.  He  is  a  famous  chief, 
having  in  his  youth  distinguished  himself  for  bold 
exploits  and  severe  endurance.  But  what  most  en 
titles  him  to  attention  is  the  very  exemplary  course 
he  has  pursued  in  attempting  to  carry  out  the  wishes 
of  the  government  in  bringing  his  race  to  the  habits 
of  civilized  life.  It  was  principally  through  his  in 
fluence  that  a  treaty  was  made  between  his  tribe 
and  the  United  States,  and  after  it  went  into  effect 
he  turned  his  attention  to  farming.  Previous  to 
the  treaty  he  was  supported  as  chief  by  the  tribal 
revenue.  He  has  succeeded  well.  Over  a  year 
ago  the  receipts  of  what  he  sold  from  his  farm, 
aside  from  what  his  household  needed,  amounted  to 
over  two  hundred  dollars.  At  length,  after  riding  a 
mile  and  a  half  without  passing  a  habitation,  over  a 
fertile  prairie,  I  came  in  sight  of  his  house.  He 
lives  near  a  small  lake,  and  north  of  him  is  a  large 
belt  of  heavy  pine  timber.  He  has  an  excellent 
farm,  well  fenced  and  well  cultivated.  His  house 
is  in  cottage  style,  and  of  considerable  length ; 
spacious,  neat,  and  wrell  furnished.  Arriving  at 
the  door  I  dismounted,  and  inquired  of  his  squaw 
if  he  was  at  home.  She  sent  her  little  girl  out  into 
the  field  to  call  him.  There,  indeed,  in  his  corn 
field,  was  he  at  work.  He  met  me  very  cordially, 
and  invited  me  into  a  room,  where  he  had  an  inter 
preter.  We  held  a  protracted  and  agreeable  con- 


A  VISIT  TO  HOLE-IX-TIIE-DAY.  77 

versation  on  Indian  matters.  He  invited  rne  to 
dine  with  him,  and  nothing  but  want  of  time  pre 
vented  my  accepting  his  polite  invitation.  He  was 
very  neatly  dressed,  and  is  quite  prepossessing  in 
his  appearance.  He  is  younger  than  I  supposed 
before  seeing  him.  I  judge  him  to  be  about  thirty- 
four.  He  is  a  man  of  strong  sense,  of  great  saga 
city,  and  considerable  ambition. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  Indians  should  not 
speedily  become  civilized.  Those  who  have  longest 
lived  amongst  them,  and  who  best  understand  their 
character,  tell  me  so.  I  fully  believe  it.  The  In 
dian  follows  his  wild  habits  because  he  has  been 
educated  to  do  so.  The  education  of  habit,  familiar 
from  infancy,  and  the  influence  of  tradition,  lead  him 
to  the  hunt,  and  as  much  to  despise  manual  labor. 
He  does  what  he  has  been  taught  to  consider  as 
noble  and  honorable,  and  that  is  what  the  most  en 
lightened  do.  Certainly  his  course  of  life  is  the 
most  severe  and  exposed;  it  is  not  for  comfort  that 
he  adheres  to  his  wild  habits.  He  regards  it  as 
noble  to  slay  his  hereditary  foe.  Hence  the  troubles 
which  occasionally  break  out  between  the  Chippewas 
and  the  Sioux.  To  gain  the  applause  of  their  tribe 
they  will  incur  almost  any  danger,  and  undergo 
almost  any  privation.  Thus,  we  see  that  for  those 
objects  which  their  education  has  taught  them  to 
regard  as  first  and  best,  they  will  sacrifice  all  their 
comforts.  They  have  sense  enough,  and  ambition 
enough,  and  fortitude  enough.  To  those  they  love 


78  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

they  are  affectionate  almost  to  excess.  Only  direct 
their  ambition  in  the  proper  way,  and  they  will  at 
once  rise.  Teach  them  that  it  is  noble  to  produce 
something  useful  by  their  labor,  and  to  unite  with 
the  great  family  of  man  to  expand  arts  and  to  im 
prove  the  immortal  mind — teach  them  that  it  is 
noble,  that  there  is  more  applause  to  be  gained  by 
it,  as  well  as  comfort,  and  they  will  change  in  a 
generation.  They  will  then  apply  themselves  to 
civilization  with  Spartan  zeal  and  with  Spartan 
virtues. 

In  a  communication  to  the  secretary  of  war  by 
Gen.  Cass  in  1821,  relative  to  his  expedition  to  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi,  he  makes  the  following 
interesting  extract  from  the  journal  of  Mr.  Doty, 
a  gentleman  who  accompanied  the  expedition  :  — 
"  The  Indians  of  the  upper  country  consider  those 
of  the  Fond-du-Lac  as  very  stupid  and  dull,  being 
but  little  given  to  war.  They  count  the  Sioux  their 
enemies,  but  have  heretofore  made  few  war  excur 
sions. 

"  Having  been  frequently  reprimanded  by  some 
of  the  more  vigilant  Indians  of  the  north,  and 
charged  with  cowardice,  and  an  utter  disregard  for 
the  event  of  the  war,  thirteen  men  of  this  tribe, 
last  season,  determined  to  retrieve  the  character  of 
their  nation,  by  making  an  excursion  against  the 
Sioux.  Accordingly,  without  consulting  the  other 
Indians,  they  secretly  departed  and  penetrated  far 
into  the  Sioux  country.  Unexpectedly,  at  night. 


THE  CIIIPPEWA  INDIANS.  79 

they  came  upon  a  party  of  the  Sioux,  amounting  to 
near  one  hundred  men,  and  immediately  began  to 
prepare  for  battle.  They  encamped  a  short  distance 
from  the  Sioux,  and  during  the  night  dug  holes  in 
the  ground  into  which  they  might  retreat  and  fight 
to  the  last  extremity.  They  appointed  one  of  their 
number  (the  youngest)  to  take  a  station  at  a  distance 
and  witness  the  struggle,  and  instructed  him,  when 
they  were  all  slain,  to  make  his  escape  to  their  own 
land,  and  relate  the  circumstances  under  which  they 
had  fallen. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  they  attacked  the  Sioux 
in  their  camp,  who,  immediately  sallying  out  upon 
them,  forced  them  back  to  the  last  place  of  retreat 
they  had  resolved  upon.  They  fought  desperately. 
More  than  twice  their  own  number  were  killed  before 
they  had  lost  their  lives.  Eight  of  them  were 
tomahawked  in  the  holes  to  which  they  had  retreat 
ed  ;  the  other  four  fell  on  the  field.  The  thirteenth 
returned  home,  according  to  the  directions  he  had 
received,  and  related  the  foregoing  circumstances  to 
his  tribe.  They  mourned  their  death  ;  but  delighted 
with  the  bravery  of  their  friends,  unexampled  in 
modern  times,  they  were  happy  in  their  grief. 

"  This  account  I  received  of  the  very  Indian  who 
was  of  the  party  and  had  escaped." — [See  School- 
craft,  p.  431.] 1 

1  Pride  is  a  characteristic  trait  in  Indian  character.  On  a  recent 
occasion  when  several  bands  of  the  Chippewas  were  at  Washington 
to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  United  States,  they  had  an  interview 


80          MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

In  the  contest  between  the  Athenians  and  the 
Dorians,  an  oracle  had  declared  that  the  side  would 
triumph  whose  king  should  fall.  Codrus  the  Athe 
nian  king,  to  be  more  sure  of  sacrificing  himself, 
assumed  the  dress  of  a  peasant,  and  was  soon  killed  ; 
and  the  event  soon  spread  dismay  among  the  ene 
mies  of  Athens.  His  patriotism  was  accounted  so 
great,  that  the  Athenians  declared  that  there  was 
no  man  worthy  to  be  his  successor,  and  so  abolished 
the  monarchy.  I  think  the  history  of  the  Indians 
would  show  instances  of  heroism  as  praiseworthy 
as  can  be  found  in  the  annals  of  the  ancients.  Let 
it  be  remembered,  too,  that  the  Spartans  knew  that 
an  imperishable  literature  would  hand  down  their 
valor  to  the  praise  of  the  world  through  all  the 
future.  But  the  Indian  looked  for  the  preservation 
of  his  exploits  only  in  the  songs  and  the  traditional 
stories  of  his  tribe. 

I  allude  to  these  traits  because  I  think  it  will  be 
agreed,  that  whatever  race  possesses  those  elements 
of  character  which  lead  them  to  pursue  with  zeal 
and  courage  things  they  have  been  taught  to  regard 

with  their  Great  Father  the  President.  He  received  them  in  the 
spacious  East  Room  of  the  executive  mansion,  in  the  presence  of  a 
large  collection  of  gentlemen  who  had  gathered  to  witness  the  occa 
sion.  Each  chief  made  a  speech  to  the  President,  which  was  inter 
preted  as  they  spoke.  When  it  came  to  the  turn  of  Eshkibogikoj 
(Flat  Mouth)  that  venerable  chief  began  with  great  dignity,  saying: 
"  Father  !  Two  great  men  have  met !"  Here  he  paused  to  let  the  sen 
tence  be  interpreted.  His  exordium  amused  not  only  the  whites  but 
the  Indians. 


THE  CH1PPEWA  INDIANS.  81 

most  creditable,  is  capable  of  being  civilized.  We 
now  pay  the  Indian  for  his  lands  in  agricultural 
tools,  in  muskets  and  powder,  in  blankets  and  cheap 
calico — and  in  education ;  but  the  smallest  item  is 
education.  If  half  the  money  which  the  govern 
ment  is  liable  to  pay  for  Indian  troubles  during 
the  last  year,  could  be  appropriated  to  a  proper 
system  of  education,  we  should  hear  of  no  more 
serious  Indian  wars.  But  I  have  not  time  to  pur 
sue  the  subject.  I  will  say,  however,  that  the  pre 
sent  commissioner  of  Indian  affairs,  Mr.  Manypenny, 
is  doing  a  very  good  work  in  advancing  their  con 
dition.  The  press  ought  to  bestow  some  attention 
on  the  subject.  There  are  nearly  400,000  Indians 
within  the  United  States  and  territories.  If  the 
philanthropy  of  the  age  could  spare  the  blacks  for 
a  little  while,  and  help  civilize  the  Indians,  it  would 
be  better  for  all  parties.  Here  is  an  enterprise 
for  genuine  humanity. 


LETTER  VIII. 

LUMBERING  INTERESTS. 

Lumber  as  an  clement  of  wealth — Quality  of  Minnesota  lumber — 
Locality  of  its  growth — The  great  pineries — Trespasses  on  govern 
ment  land — How  the  lumbermen  elude  the  government — Value  of 
lumber — Character  of  the  practical  lumberman — Transportation  of 
lumber  on  rafts. 

CROW  WING,  October,  1856. 

IT  seems  to  have  been  more  difficult  for  countries 
which  abound  in  precious  metals  to  attain  to  great 
prosperity  than  for  a  rich  man  to  secure  eternal  fe 
licity.  Witness,  for  instance,  the  sluggish  growth 
and  degenerate  civilization  of  the  South  American 
states.  But  timber  is  a  fundamental  element  of  co 
lonial  growth.  The  mines  of  Potosi  cannot  com 
pare  with  it  in  value.  .  An  abundance  of  timber  and 
a  superabundance  of  it  are  two  very  different 
things.  Some  of  the  Middle,  and  what  were  once 
Western  States,  were  originally  covered  with  forests. 
So  of  the  greater  part  of  New  England.  In  Ohio 
and  in  Michigan  timber  has  been  an  encumbrance ; 
for  there  was  great  labor  to  be  performed  by  the 
settler  in  clearing  the  land  and  preparing  it  for  the 
plough;  and  at  this  day  we  see  in  travelling  through 
each  of  those  states,  as  well  as  in  Kentucky,  Ten- 


LUMBERING  INTERESTS.  83 

nessee,  and  Missouri,  fields  planted  amidst  heavy 
timber  trees  which  have  been  belted  that  they  may 
wither  and  die.  By  an  abundance  of  timber  I  mean 
an  ample  supply  not  only  for  domestic  but  foreign 
market ;  and  with  this  understanding  of  the  word  I 
will  repeat  what  has  often  been  said,  and  what  I 
suppose  is  well  known,  that  Minnesota  has  an 
abundance  of  excellent  timber.  Unlike  the  gorgeous 
forests  in  New  Hampshire,  which  behind  high  cliffs 
and  mountain  fastnesses  defy  the  woodman,  the 
timber  of  Minnesota  grows  in  the  valleys  of  her 
great  rivers  and  upon  the  banks  of  their  numerous 
tributaries.  It  is  thus  easily  shipped  to  a  distant 
market ;  while  the  great  body  of  the  land,  not  en 
cumbered  with  it,  but  naked,  is  ready  for  the  plough 
and  for  the  seed.  Most  of  the  timber  which  grows 
in  the  region  below  this  point  is  hard  wood,  such  as 
elm,  maple,  oak,  and  ash. 

There  is  considerable  scrub  oak  also  thinly  scat 
tered  over  large  portions  of  fertile  prairie.  To  a 
casual  observer  these  oaks,  from  their  stunted  ap 
pearance,  would  be  taken  as  evidence  of  poor  soil. 
But  the  soil  is  not  the  cause  of  their  scrubby  looks. 
It  is  the  devouring  fires  which  annually  sweep  over 
the  plains  with  brilliant  though  terrific  aspect,  and 
which  are  fed  by  the  luxuriant  grass  grown  on  that 
same  soil.  If  the  oaks  did  not  draw  uncommon 
nourishment  from  the  soil,  it  must  be  difficult  for 
them  to  survive  such  scorchings.  It  is  a  consoling 
thought  that  these  fires  cease  in  proportion  as  the 


84  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

country  is  settled  up.  The  rock  maple  is  indige 
nous  to  the  soil ;  and  the  Indians  have  long  been  in 
the  habit  of  making  sugar  from  its  sap.  The  tim 
ber  most  used  for  fences  is  tamarack.  The  pineries 
may  be  said  to  begin  at  the  mouth  of  the  Crow 
Wing  River  ;  though  there  is  a  great  supply  on  the 
Rum  River.  For  upwards  of  a  hundred  miles  above 
here  on  the  Mississippi — more  or  less  dense,  the 
pine  forests  extend.  Captain  John  Pope,  in  the  in 
teresting  report  of  his  expedition  to  the  Red  River 
of  the  North,  in  1849,  says — "  The  pineries  of  the 
upper  Mississippi  are  mostly  upon  its  tributaries, 
and  I  think  are  not  found  on  the  west  side  further 
south  than  the  parallel  of  46°  N.  latitude."  (The 
latitude  of  this  place  is  46°  16'  50".)  "They 
alternate,  even  where  most  abundant,  with  much 
larger  tracts  of  fertile  country."  Again  he  says — 
"  As  might  be  expected  from  its  alluvial  character, 
there  is  no  pine  timber  in  the  valley  of  the  Red 
River,  but  the  oak  and  elm  there  attain  to  a  size 
which  I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  seen  elsewhere."  In 
another  place  he  remarks  that  "  the  pineries  along 
the  Crow  Wing  River  are  among  the  most  extensive 
and  valuable  found  on  the  tributaries  of  the  Missis 
sippi."  Mr.  Schoolcraft  says  of  this  river,  "the 
whole  region  is  noted  for  its  pine  timber."  In 
speaking  of  the  country  on  the  St.  Louis  River,  a 
few  miles  from  where  it  empties  into  Lake  Superior, 
the  same  gentleman  remarks  :  "  The  growth  of  the 
forest  is  pines,  hemlock,  spruce,  birch,  oak,  and 


LUMBERING    INTERESTS.  85 

maple."  I  had  heard  considerable  about  Minnesota 
lumber,  it  is  true,  but  I  was  not  prepared  to  see  the 
pine  timber  so  valuable  and  heavy  as  it  is  above  and 
about  here.  The  trees  are  of  large  growth,  straight 
and  smooth.  They  are  not  surpassed  by 

"  The  tallest  pine, 

Hewn  on  Norwegian  hills  to  bo  the  inast 
Of  some  great  admiral." 

Cujus  est  solum  ejus  est  usque  ad  ccelum — whose 
the  soil,  his  to  the  sky — is  a  maxim  in  these  pine 
regions  of  literal  importance.  There  is  something 
besides  utility  also  to  be  mentioned  in  this  connec 
tion.  With  the  exception  of  swamps,  which  are  few 
and  far  between,  the  timber  land  has  all  the  beauty 
of  a  sylvan  grove.  The  entire  absence  of  under 
brush  and  decayed  logs  lends  ornament  and  attrac 
tion  to  the  woods.  They  are  more  like  the  groves 
around  a  mansion  in  their  neat  and  cheerful  appear 
ance  ;  and  awaken  reflection  on  the  Muses  and  the 
dialogues  of  philosophers  rather  than  apprehension 
of  wild  beasts  and  serpents. 

The  relative  importance  of  the  lumber  business 
would  hardly  be  estimated  by  a  stranger.  It  has 
been  carried  on  for  at  least  six  years  ;  and  consid 
erable  has  found  its  way  as  far  down  as  St.  Louis. 
It  will  be  asked,  I  imagine,  if  all  this  timber  land, 
especially  the  pine,  has  been  sold  by  the  govern 
ment  ;  and  if  not,  how  it  happens  that  men  cut  it 
down  and  sell  it  ?  I  will  answer  this.  The  great 
region  of  pineries  has  not  yet  been  surveyed,  much 


86  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

less  sold  by  the  government.  But  notwithstanding 
this,  men  have  cut  it  in  large  quantities,  sold  it  into 
a  greedy  market,  and  made  money,  if  not  fortunes 
in  the  business.  As  a  sort  of  colorable  excuse  for 
cutting  timber,  those  employed  in  the  business  often 
make  a  preemption  claim  on  land  covered  with  it, 
and  many  people  suppose  they  have  the  right  to  cut  as 
much  as  they  please  after  the  incipient  steps  towards 
preemption.  But  this  is  not  so.  All  that  a  claim 
ant  can  do  in  this  respect  is  to  cut  wood  enough  for 
his  fuel,  and  timber  enough  for  his  own  building 
purposes,  until  he  receives  a  patent  from  the  gov 
ernment.  Of  course  it  is  altogether  reasonable  and 
proper  that  men  should  be  precluded  from  doing  so 
until  their  title  in  the  soil  is  complete.  Because,  until 
a  preemption  claim  is  perfect,  or,  until  the  land  has 
been  acquired  by  some  legal  title,  it  is  not  certain 
that  the  claimant  will  ultimately  secure  it  or  pay 
any  money  to  the  government.  But  does  not  the 
government  do  anything  to  prevent  these  tres 
passes  ?  Yes,  but  all  its  attempts  are  baffled. 

For  example,  last  spring  a  large  quantity  of 
splendid  lumber  was  seized  by  the  United  States 
marshal  and  sold  at  public  auction.  It  was  bid  off 
by  the  lumbermen  themselves,  who  had  formed  a 
combination  to  prevent  its  falling  into  the  hands  of 
other  purchasers.  This  combination  had  no  resist 
ance  as  I  am  aware  of  in  the  public  opinion  of  the 
territory,  and  the  timber  was  sold  to  those  who  had 
it  cut  at  a  price  so  far  below  its  value  that  it  didn't 


LUMBERING  INTERESTS.  87 

pay  the  expense  of  the  legal  proceedings  on  the  part 
of  the  government.  This  is  accounted  for  in  the 
fact  of  the  exhaustless  quantity  of  pine  timber 
towards  the  north ;  in  the  demand  for  it  when 
sawed ;  and  in  the  disposition  to  protect  enter 
prising  men,  though  technically  trespassers,  who 
penetrate  into  the  forest  in  the  winter  at  great  ex 
pense,  and  whose  standing  and  credit  are  some 
guaranty  of  their  ultimate  responsibility  to  the 
government,  should  they  not  perfect  their  titles. 
The  business  of  getting  out  the  timber  is  carried  on 
in  the  winter,  and  affords  employment  for  a  large 
number  of  athletic  young  men.  The  price  of  timber, 
I  ascertained  of  Mr.  P.  D.  Pratt,  a  dealer  at  St. 
Paul,  is,  for  the  best,  $30  per  M. ;  for  common,  $20. 
Most  people  have  seen  or  been  told  something  of 
the  lumbermen  of  Maine.  Allowing  this  to  be  so,  it 
will  not  be  difficult  to  comprehend  the  condition  and 
character  of  the  lumbermen  of  Minnesota  and  the 
northwest.  But  if  there  is  anybody  who  fancies 
them  to  be  a  set  of  laborers,  such  as  build  our  rail 
roads  and  dig  coal  and  minerals,  he  is  greatly  mis 
taken.  The  difference  is  in  birth  and  education  ; 
between  foreigners  and  native-born  citizens.  A 
difference  not  in  rights  and  merits,  so  much  as  in 
habits  and  character.  Born  on  American  soil,  they 
have  attended  our  common  schools,  and  have  the 
bearing  and  independence  of  sovereigns.  None  but 
very  vigorous  men  can  endure,  or  at  least  attempt 
to  endure,  the  exposure  of  living  in  the  woods  all 


88  MINNESOTA   AND   I)  A  COT  A II. 

winter  and  swinging  the  axe ;  though  by  proper 
care  of  themselves,  such  exercise  is  conducive  to 
health  and  strength.  -Accordingly  we  find  the  lum 
berman — I  mean  of  course  the  practical  lumber 
man — to  be  a  thick-set,  muscular  young  man,  with 
a  bright  eye  and  florid  cheek ;  in  short,  one  whom 
we  would  call  a  double-fisted  fellow.  He  is  not  one 
of  your  California  boys,  but  more  affable  and  do 
mestic,  with  a  shorter  beard,  and  not  so  great  a  pro 
fusion  of  weapons.  His  dress  is  snug  and  plain — 
the  regular  pioneer  costume  of  boots  over  the  pants, 
and  a  thick  red  shirt  in  lieu  of  a  coat.  His  capital 
stock  is  his  health  and  his  hands.  When  in  em 
ployment  he  is  economical  and  lays  up  his  wages. 
When  out  of  employment  and  in  town,  his  money 
generally  goes  freely.  As  a  class,  the  lumbermen 
are  intelligent.  They  are  strong  talkers,  for  they 
put  in  a  good  many  of  the  larger  sort  of  words ; 
and  from  their  pungent  satire  and  sledge-hammer 
style  of  reasoning,  are  by  no  means  very  facile  dis 
putants.  They  are  preeminently  jokers.  This  is 
as  they  appear  on  their  way  to  the  woods.  During 
the  season  of  their  active  labor  they  usually  spend 
the  evening,  after  a  day  of  hard  wrork,  in  story 
telling  or  in  a  game  of  euchre.  Their  wages  amount 
to  about  two  dollars  a  day,  exclusive  of  board. 
They  have  good  living  in  the  woods,  the  provisions, 
which  are  furnished  on  an  ample  scale,  being  served 
by  male  cooks. 

While  on  the  subject  of  lumber,  which  may  possi- 


LUMBERING  INTERESTS.  89 

bly  interest  some  people  who  wish  to  redeem  the 
fortunes  they  have  lately  lost  in  Maine  lumber,  I 
ought  not  to  leave  unmentioned  the  valuable  car- 

o 

goes  of  it  which  are  floated  down  the  Mississippi. 
When  coming  up  in  the  boat  I  was  astonished  to  see 
such  stupendous  rafts.  Large -logs  are  transported 
by  being  made  into  rafts.  At  a  landing  where  the 
boat  stopped,  I  on  one  occasion  attempted  to  esti 
mate  the  number  of  logs  comprised  in  one  of  these 
marine  novelties,  and  found  it  to  be  about  eight 
hundred  ;  the  logs  were  large,  and  were  worth  from 
five  to  six  dollars  each.  Here  then  was  a  raft  of 
timber  worth  at  least  $4000.  They  are  navigated 
by  about  a  dozen  men,  with  large  paddles  attached 
at  either  end  of  the  raft,  which  serve  to  propel  and 
steer.  Often,  in  addition  to  the  logs,  the  rafts  are 
laden  with  valuable  freights  of  sawed  lumber. 
Screens  are  built  as  a  protection  against  wind,  and 
a  caboose  stands  somewhere  in  the  centre,  or  accord 
ing  to  western  parlance  it  might  be  called  a  cabin. 
Sometimes  the  raft  will  be  running  in  a  fine  current ; 
then  only  a  couple  of  hands  are  on  the  watch  and  at 
the  helm.  The  rest  are  seen  either  loitering  about 
observing  the  country,  or  reclining,  snugly  wrapped 
up  in  their  blankets.  Some  of  these  rafts  must  cover 
as  much  as  two  acres.  Birnam  Wood  coming  to 
Dunsinane  was  not  a  much  greater  phenomenon. 
8* 


LETTER   IX. 

SHORES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 

Description  of  the  country  around  Lake  Superior — Minerals — Locality 
of  a  commercial  city— New  land  districts — Buchanan — Ojibeway — 
Explorations  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi — Henry  R.  School- 
craft — M.  Nicollet's  report — Resources  of  the  country  above  Crow 
Wing. 

CROW  WING,  October  7,  1856. 

THERE  is  one  very  important  section  of  this  ter 
ritory  that  I  have  not  yet  alluded  to.  I  mean  that 
part  which  borders  on  Lake  Superior.  This  calls 
to  mind  that  there  is  such  a  place  as  Superior  City. 
But  that  is  in  Wisconsin,  not  in  Minnesota.  From 
that  city  (so  called,  yet  city  in  earnest  it  is  like  to 
be)  to  the  nearest  point  in  this  territory  the  distance 
by  water  is  twelve  miles.  The  St.  Louis  River  is  the 
dividing  line  for  many  miles  between  Minnesota  and 
Wisconsin.  The  country  round  about  this  greatest 
of  inland  seas  is  not  the  most  fertile.  It  is  some 
what  bleak,  on  the  northern  shore  especially,  but  is 
nevertheless  fat  in  minerals.  On  the  banks  of  the 
St.  Louis  River  the  soil  is  described,  by  the  earliest 
explorers  as  well  as  latest  visiters,  to  be  good.  The 
river  itself,  though  it  contains  a  large  volume  of 
water,  is  not  adapted  to  navigation,  on  account  of 
its  rapids. 

(90) 


SHORES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR.          91 

Those  who  have  sailed  across  Lake  Superior  to 
the  neighborhood  of  Fond-du-Lac  appear  to  have 
been  charmed  by  the  scenery  of  its  magnificent 
islands  and  its  rock-bound  shores.  Most  people, 
I  suppose,*  have  heard  of  its  beautiful  cluster  of 
islands  called  the  Twelve  Apostles.  One  peculiar 
phenomenon  often  mentioned  is  the  boisterous  con 
dition  of  its  waters  at  the  shore,  which  occurs  when 
the  lake  itself  is  perfectly  calm.  The  water  is  said 
to  foam  and  dash  so  furiously  as  to  make  it  almost 
perilous  to  land  in  a  small  boat.  This  would  seem 
to  be  produced  by  some  movement  of  the  waters 
similar  to  the  flow  of  the  tide;  and  perhaps  the 
dashing  after  all  is  not  much  more  tumultuous 
than  is  seen  on  a  summer  afternoon  under  the  rocks 
of  Nahant,  or  along  the  serene  coast  at  Phillips 
Beach. 

The  resources  of  that  part  of  the  territory  border 
ing  on  the  lake,  however,  are  sufficient  to  induce  an 
extensive,  if  not  a  rapid,  settlement  of  the  country. 
The  copper  mines  afford  occupation  for  thousands 
of  people  now.  I  have  known  a  young  man  to  clear 
$40  a  month  in  getting  out  the  ore.  But  the  labor 
is  hard.  Somewhere  near  Fond-du-Lac  is  destined 
to  be  a  great  commercial  city.  Whether  it  will  be 
at  Superior,  which  has  now  got  the  start  of  all  other 
places,  or  whether  it  will  be  at  some  point  within 
this  territory,  is  more  than  can  be  known  at  present. 
But  a  great  town  there  is  to  be,  sooner  or  later ;  and 
for  this  reason,  that  the  distance  from  Buffalo  to 


92  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

Fond-du-Lac  by  navigation  is  about  the  same  as  from 
Buffalo  to  Chicago,  affording,  therefore,  as  good 
facilities  for  water  transportation  of  merchandise 
between  Fond-du-Lac  and  the  East,  as  between  Chi 
cago  and  the  East.  Moreover,  the  development  of 
this  new  agricultural  world  will  tend  to  that  result. 
A  railroad  will  then  run  from  that  point  directly 
west,  crossing  the  upper  Mississippi  as  also  the  Red 
River  of  the  North  at  the  head  of  its  navigation, 
which  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sioux  Wood  River. 

During  the  last  summer,  congress  established  two 
new  land  districts  in  the  upper  part  of  the  territory, 
called  the  north-eastern  and  the  north-western.  The 
former  includes  the  country  lying  on  Lake  Superior, 
and  its  land  office  has  been  located  at  Buchanan,  a 
new  place  just  started  on  the  shore  of  the  lake. 
The  land  office  for  the  north-western  district  has 
been  located  at  Ojibeway,  a  town  site  situated  sixty 
miles  above  here,  on  the  Mississippi,  near  the  mouth 
of  Muddy  River.  This  district  includes  the  head 
waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and  extends  west  as  far 
as  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  The  surveyors  have 
been  engaged  in  either  district  only  a  few  weeks. 
I  don't  expect  there  will  be  any  land  offered  for  sale 
in  either  district  till  spring.  While  on  the  subject 
of  land  offices,  let  me  observe  that  the  appointments 
in  them  are  among  the  most  lucrative  under  the 
patronage  of  the  general  government.  There  is  a 
register  and  receiver  for  each  office.  They  have, 
each,  $500  per  annum  and  fees ;  the  whole  not  to 


SHORES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR.         93 

exceed  §3000.  Aside  from  the  official  fees,  they 
get  much  more  for  private  services.  They  have 
more  or  less  evidence  to  reduce  to  writing  in  nearly 
every  preemption  case,  for  which  the  general  land 
office  permits  them  to  receive  private  compensation. 
It  is  rather  necessary  that  the  local  land  officers 
should  be  lawyers,  as  they  have  frequent  occasion 
to  decide  on  litigated  land  claims. 

Many  explorations  have  been  made  of  the  region 
around  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  the  re 
ports  of  which  have  conveyed  to  the  world  attractive 
information  of  the  country,  but  information  which 
only  approximated  to  accuracy.  In  1806,  Lieut. 
Pike  explored  the  river  as  far  as  Turtle  Lake,  and 
returned,  thinking,  good  easy  man,  full  surely  he 
had  discovered  the  real  source  of  the  river,  and  yet 
the  source  of  the  river  was  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  off  in  another  direction.  Lewis  and  Clarke 
had  ascended  the  river  previously.  In  1820,  Gene 
ral  Cass,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  explored 
the  river  to  Cass  Lake ;  being  obliged  to  stop  there 
on  account  of  the  low  stage  of  water  which  they 
heard  existed  a  few  days'  journey  beyond.  Again, 
in  1832,  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  then  superintendent  of 
Indian  affairs,  made  another  expedition,  which  re 
sulted  in  his  discovery  of  the  true  sources  of  the 
river ;  it  being  a  lake  which  he  named  Itasca.  It 
has  been  said  that  he  manufactured  this  beautiful 
word  out  of  the  last  syllables  of  veritas  and  the  first 
syllable  of  caput  (the  true  head).  But  I  have  been 


94  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

told  that  the  word  was  suggested  to  his  mind  by  an 
Indian  word  signifying  breast.  Dr.  Johnson  says, 
that  a  traveller  in  order  to  bring  back  knowledge 
should  take  knowledge  with  him.  That  is,  that  he 
should  have  posted  himself  up  to  some  extent  on 
the  country  he  visits.  I  hope  it  will  not  require 
an  affidavit  for  me  to  prove  that  I  availed  myself 
of  the  suggestion.  But  I  must  say  I  have  found 
great  pleasure  and  profit  in  perusing  Mr.  School- 
craft's  narratives  of  both  his  expeditions.  Though 
he  had  the  encouragement  of  the  government,  his 
undertaking  was  surrounded  by  many  obstacles  and 
some  dangers.  His  account  of  the  whole  country 
is  pleasant  and  instructive  to  the  reader,  and  shows 
that  all  he  saw  produced  on  his  mind  a  favorable 
impression.  The  arduous  services  of  this  gentleman 
as  an  explorer  have  been  of  great  advantage  to  the 
country,  and  his  fine  literary  talents  have  given  his 
adventures  an  historic  fame.  Not  less  deserving  of 
applause  either  have  been  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  the  Indians.  He  now  lives  in  affluent 
circumstances  at  Washington,  and,  though  suffering 
under  some  bodily  infirmities,  appears  (or  did  when 
I  saw  him)  to  enjoy  life  with  that  serene  and  ra 
tional  happiness  which  springs  from  useful  employ 
ment,  and  a  consciousness  that  past  opportunities 
have  been  improved. 

"For  he  lives  twice  who  can  at  once  employ 
The  present  well  and  e'en  the  past  enjoy." 


SHORES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR.         95 

There  have  been  other  explorations  of  this  part 
of  the  country  at  different  times  by  Messrs.  Long, 
Nicollet,  and  Pope.  M.  Nicollet  was  accompanied 
and  assisted  by  Mr.  (then  Lieutenant)  Fremont.  The 
reports  made  of  these  explorations  afford  informa 
tion  which,  if  extensively  known  among  the  people, 
would  tend  to  direct  a  larger  emigration  into  the 
upper  part  of  the  territory.  They  often  launch  off 
into  exclamations  as  to"  the  beautiful  surface  of  the 
country ;  while  their  account  of  native  fruits  and 
the  bracing  climate  and  fertile  soil  picture  to  the 
imagination  all  the  elements  of  a  home. 

M.  Nicollet  was  a  foreign  gentleman  who  pos 
sessed  superior  scientific  knowledge  and  a  rare  zeal 
to  prosecute  researches.  He  made  an  exploration, 
through  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peter's  and  the  Mis 
souri  ;  and  from  thence  to  the  sources  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  in  the  year  1839.  The  official  report  which 
he  made  is  a  valuable  document,  but  difficult  to  be 
obtained.  I  shall  therefore  make  a  few  extracts 
from  it.  I  should  here  remark  that  M.  Nicollet  died 
before  lie  Lul  completed  the  introduction  to  his  re 
port.  "The  Mississippi,"  he  says,  "holds  its  own 
from  its  very  origin  ;  for  it  is  not  necessary  to  sup 
pose,  as  has  been  done,  that  Lake  Itasca  may  be 
supplied  with  invisible  sources,  to  justify  the  charac 
ter  of  a  remarkable  stream,  which  it  assumes  at  its 
issue  from  this  lake.  There  are  five  creeks  that  fall 
into  it,  formed  by  innumerable  streamlets  oozing 
from  the  clay-beds  at  the  bases  of  the  hills,  that 


96  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

consist  of  an  accumulation  of  sand,  gravel,  and  clay, 
intermixed  with  erratic  fragments ;  being  a  more 
prominent  portion  of  the  great  erratic  deposit  pre 
viously  described,  and  which  here  is  known  by  the 
name  of  '  Hauteurs  dcs  Terres' — heights  of  land. 

"  These  elevations  are  commonly  flat  at  top,  va 
rying  in  height  from  85  to  100  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  surrounding  waters.  They  are  covered  with 
thick  forests,  in  which  coniferous  plants  predomi 
nate.  South  of  Itasca  Lake,  they  form  a  semicir 
cular  region  with  a  boggy  bottom,  extending  to  the 
south-west  a  distance  of  several  miles  ;  thence  these 
Hauteurs  des  Terres  ascend  to  the  north-west  and 
north ;  and  then,  stretching  to  the  north-east  and 
east,  through  the  zone  between  47°  and  48°  of  lati 
tude,  make  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters 
that  empty  into  Hudson's  Bay  and  those  which  dis 
charge  themselves  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The 
principal  group  of  these  Hauteurs  des  Terres  is 
subdivided  into  several  ramifications,  varying  in  ex 
tent,  elevation,  and  course,  so  as  to  determine  the 
hydrographical  basins  of  all  the  innumerable  lakes 
and  rivers  that  so  peculiarly  characterize  this  region 
of  country. 

"  One  of  these  ramifications  extends  in  a  south 
erly  direction  under  the  name  of  Cote.au  du  Grand 
Bois  ;  and  it  is  this  which  separates  the  Mississippi 
streams  from  those  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 

"  The  waters  supplied  by  the  north  flank  of  these 
heights  of  land — still  on  the  south  side  of  Lake 


SHORES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR.  1>7 

Itasca — give  origin  to  the  five  creeks  of  which  I 
have  spoken  above.  These  are  the  waters  which  I 
consider  to  be  the  utmost  sources  of  the  Mississippi. 
Those  that  flow  from  the  southern  side  of  the  same 
heights,  and  empty  themselves  into  Elbow  Lake, 
are  the  utmost  sources  of  the  Red  River  of  the 
North ;  so  that  the  most  remote  feeders  of  Hudson's 
Bay  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  are  closely  approxima 
ted  to  each  other." 

Of  the  country  above  Crow  Wing,  he  makes  the 
following  observations,  which  are  not  less  interesting 
than  instructive:  "Over  the  whole  route  which  I 
traversed  after  leaving  Crow  Wing  River,  the  country 
has  a  different  aspect  from  that  which  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi  above  the  falls  present.  The  forests 
are  denser  and  more  varied ;  the  soil,  which  is  alter 
nately  sandy,  gravelly,  clayey,  and  loamy,  is,  gene 
rally  speaking,  lighter  excepting  on  the  shores  of 
some  of  the  larger  lakes.  The  uplands  are  covered 
with  white  and  yellow  pines,  spruce  and  birch ;  and 
the  wet  lowlands  by  the  American  larch  and  the 
willow.  On  the  slopes  of  sandy  hills,  the  American 
aspen,  the  canoe  birch  (white  birch),  with  a  species 
of  birch  of  dwarfish  growth,  the  alder,  and  wild 
rose,  extend  to  the  very  margin  of  the  river.  On 
the  borders  of  the  larger  lakes,  where  the  soil  is 
generally  better,  we  find  the  sugar  maple,  the  black 
and  bar  oaks  (also  named  overcup  white  oak,  but 
differing  from  the  white  oak),  the  elm,  ash,  lime  tree, 
&c.  Generally  speaking,  however,  this  wood-land 
9 


98  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

does  not  extend  back  farther  than  a  mile  from  the 
lakes.  The  white  cedar,  the  hemlock,  spruce,  pine, 
and  fir,  are  occasionally  found ;  but  the  red  cedar 
is  scarce  throughout  this  region,  and  none,  perhaps, 
are  to  be  seen  but  on  islands  of  those  lakes  called 
by  the  Indians  Red  Cedar  Lakes.  The  shrubbery 
consists  principally  of  the  wild  rose,  hawthorn,  and 
wild  plum ;  and  raspberries,  blackberries,  straw 
berries,  and  cranberries  are  abundant. 

"  The  aspect  of  the  country  is;  greatly  varied  by 
•hills,  dales,  copses,  small  prairies,  and  a  great  num 
ber  of  lakes ;  the  whole  of  which  I  do  not  pretend 
to  have  laid  down  on  my  map.  *  *  *  *  The  lakes 
to  which  I  have  just  alluded  are  distributed  in  sepa 
rate  groups,  or  are  arranged  in  prolonged  chains 
along  the  rivers,  and  not  unfrequently  attached  to 
each  other  by  gentle  rapids.  It  has  seemed  to  me 
that  they  diminish  in  extent  on  both  sides  of  the 
Mississippi,  as  we  proceed  southwardly,  as  far  as 
43°  of  north  latitude  ;  and  this  observation  extends 
to  the  Arctic  region,  commencing  at  Bear's  Lake, 
or  Slave  Lake,  Winnipeg  Lake,  &c.  It  may  be 
further  remarked  that  the  basins  of  these  lakes  have 
a  sufficient  depth  to  leave  no  doubt  that  they  will 
remain  characteristic  features  of  the  country  for  a 
long  time  to  come.  Several  species  of  fish  abound 
in  them.  The  white  fish  (Corregonus  albus)  is  found 
in  all  the  deep  lakes  west  of  the  Mississippi — and, 
indeed,  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Polar  Sea.  That 
which  is  taken  in  Leech  Lake  is  said  by  amateurs 


SHORES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR.         99 

to  be  more  highly  flavored  than  even  that  of  Lake 
Superior,  and  weighs  from  three  to  ten  pounds.  *  *  * 
Of  all  the  Indian  nations  that  I  have  visited,  the 
Chippewas,  inhabiting  the  country  about  the  sources 
of  the  Mississippi,  are  decidedly  the  most  favored. 
Besides  their  natural  resources  (to  which  I  have 
already  referred]  of  fish,  wild  rice,  and  maple  sugar, 
with  the  addition  of  an  abundance  of  game,  the 
climate  is  found  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  culture 
of  corn,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  pulse.  The  potato 
is  of  superior  quality  to  that  of  the  Middle  States 
of  the  Union.  In  a  trading  point  of  view,  the  hunt 
is  very  profitable.  The  bear,  the  deer  and  elk,  the 
wolf,  the  fox,  the  wolverine,  the  fisher  racoon,  musk- 
rat,  mink,  otter,  marten,  weasel,  and  a  few  remain 
ing  beavers,  are  the  principal  articles  of  this  traffic." 
(pp.  58,  64.)  To  those  who  are  desirous  of  perusing 
this  valuable  report,  and  who  have 'access  to  the 
congressional  documents,  I  would  say  that  it  may 
be  found  in  Senate  Document  237,  2d  Session  of 
26th  Congress. 


LETTER  X. 

VALLEY  OF  THE  RED  RIVER  OF  THE  NORTH. 

Climate  of  Minnesota — The  settlement  at  Pembina — St.  Joseph — 
Col.  Smith's  expedition— Red  River  of  the  North— Fur  trade— Red 
River  Settlement — The  Hudson's  Bay  Company — Ex-Gov.  Ram 
sey's  observations — Dacotah. 

CROW  WING,  October,  1856. 

A  CELEBRATED  geographer  of  the  first  century 
wrote,  "  Germany  is  indeed  habitable,  but  is  unin 
habited  on  account  of  the  cold."  I  am  not  so  cer 
tain,  but  some  people  have  a  similar  idea  of  the 
upper  portion  of  Minnesota.  If  there  are  any? 
however,  thus  distrustful  of  its  climate,  they  proba 
bly  live  out  of  the  territory.  I  have  no  means  of 
knowing  what  the  climate  is  here  in  winter,  except 
from  hearsay  and  general  principles.  It  seems  to 
be  an  approved  theory,  that  the  farther  we  approach 
the  west  in  a  northern  latitude  the  milder  becomes 
the  winter.  The  stage-drivers  tell  me  that  the  snow 
does  not  fall  to  such  a  depth  as  in  the  northern 
part  of  New  England ;  that  the  weather  is  tolera 
bly  uniform ;  and  that  the  roads  are  at  all  times 
kept  open  and  much  travelled.  After  all,  it  is  a 
great  way  before  we  come  to  the  home  of  the  Esqui- 

(100) 


VALLEY  OF  RED  RIVER  OF  THE  NORTH.        101 

maux,  and  the  desert  of  ice  where  Sir  John  Frank 
lin  perished. 

I  will  here  subjoin  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  addressed  to  Gov.  Stephens  by  the  Hon. 
Henry  M.  Rice,  the  able  delegate  from  Minnesota. 
It  is  dated  3d  June,  1854 : 

"  Navigation  of  the  Mississippi  River  closes  from 
the  10th  to  the  25th  of  November,  and  opens  from 
the  1st  to  the  10th  of  April.  That  of  the  Red 
River  of  the  North  closes  from  the  1st  to  15th  No 
vember,  and  opens  from  10th  to  25th  April.  I  have 
often  travelled  in  the  winter  from  St.  Paul  to  Crow 
Wing,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
with  a  single  horse  and  sled,  without  a  track,  and 
have  never  found  the  snow  deep  enough  to  impede 
my  progress.  I  have  also  gone  from  Crow  Wing, 
beyond  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the 
waters  of  the  Hudson's  Bay,  on  foot  and  without 
snow-shoes.  I  spent  one  entire  winter  travelling 
through  that  region,  and  never  found  the  snow  over 
eighteen  inches  deep,  and  seldom  over  nine  inches. 

"  For  several  years  I  had  trading-posts  extending 
from  Lake  Superior  to  the  Red  River  of  the  North, 
from  46°  to  49°  north  latitude,  and  never  found  the 
snow  so  deep  as  to  prevent  supplies  being  trans 
ported  from  one  post  to  another  with  horses.  One 
winter,  north  of  Crow  Wing,  say  47°  north  latitude, 
I  wintered  about  sixty  head  of  horses  and  cattle 
without  giving  them  food  of  any  kind  except  such 
as  they  could  procure  themselves  under  the  snow. 
9* 


102  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

Between  the  45th  and  49th  degrees  north  latitude, 
the  snow  does  not  fall  so  deep  as  it  does  between 
the  40th  and  45th  degrees  ;  this  is  easily  accounted 
for  upon  the  same  principle  that  in  the  fall  they 
have  frosts  much  earlier  near  the  40th  than  they 
do  near  the  45th  degree.  I  say  this  in  reference  to 
the  country  watered  by  the  Mississippi  River.  Owing 
to  its  altitude  the  atmosphere  is  dry  beyond  belief, 
which  accounts  for  the  absence  of  frosts  in  the  fall, 
and  for  the  small  quantity  of  snow  that  falls  in  a 
country  so  far  north.  Yoyageurs  traverse  the  terri 
tory  from  Lake  Superior  to  the  Missouri  the  entire 
winter  with  horses  and  sleds,  having  to  make  their 
own  roads,  and  yet  with  heavy  loads  are  not  de 
tained  by  snow.  Lumbermen  in  great  numbers 
winter  in  the  pine  regions  of  Minnesota  with  their 
teams,  and  I  have  never  heard  of  their  finding  the 
snow  too  deep  to  prosecute  their  labors.  I  have 
known  several  winters  when  the  snow  at  no  time 
was  over  six  inches  deep." 

The  Hon.  H.  II.  Sibley,  ex-delegate  from  Min 
nesota,  in  a  letter  dated  at  Mendota  says  :  "  As  our 
country  is  for  the  most  part  composed  of  prairie,  it 
is  of  course  much  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  winds. 
It  is,  however,  a  peculiarity  of  our  climate,  that 
calms  prevail  during  the  cold  weather  of  the  winter 
months ;  consequently,  the  snow  does  not  drift  to 
anything  like  the  extent  experienced  in  New  Eng 
land  or  northern  New  York.  I  have  never  believed 
that  railroad  communication  in  this  territory  would 


VALLEY  OF  RED  1UVEK  OF  THE  NORTH.    103 

be  seriously  impeded  by  the  depth  or  drift  of  snow, 
unless,  perhaps,  in  the  extreme  northern  portion  of 
it."  (See  Explorations  and  Surveys  for  the  Pacific 
Railroad,  L,  400.) 

A  few  facts  in  regard  to  the  people  who  live  four 
or  five  hundred  miles  to  the  north,  will  best  illustrate 
the  nature  of  the  climate  and  its  adaptedness  to 
agriculture. 

It  is  common  to  say  that  settlements  have  not  ex 
tended  beyond  Crow  Wing.  This  is  only  technically 
true.  There  is  a  settlement  at  Pembina,  where  the 
dividing  line  between  British  America  and  the  United 
States  crosses  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  It 
didn't  extend  there  from  our  frontier,  sure  enough. 
If  it  extended  from  anywhere  it  must  have  been 
from  the  north,  or  along  the  confines  of  that  mystic 
region  called  Rainy  Lake.  Pembina  is  said  to  have 
about  600  inhabitants.  It  is  situated  on  the  Pem 
bina  River.  It  is  an  Indian-French  word  meaning 
cranberry.  Men  live  there  who  were  born  there, 
and  it  is  in  fact  an  old  settlement.  It  was  founded 
by  British  subjects,  who  thought  they  had  located 
on  British  soil.  The  greater  part  of  its  inhabitants 
are  half-breeds,  who  earn  a  comfortable  livelihood 
in  fur  hunting  and  in  farming.  It  sends  two  repre 
sentatives  and  a  councillor  to  the  territorial  legisla 
ture.  It  is  460  miles  north-west  of  St.  Paul,  and 
330  miles  distant  from  this  town.  Notwithstanding 
the  distance,  there  is  considerable  communication 
between  the  places.  West  of  Pembina,  about  thirty 


10  i  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

miles,  is  a  settlement  called  St.  Joseph,  situated  near 
a  large  mythological  body  of  water  called  Mini- 
wakan,  or  Devil's  Lake ;  and  is  one  of  the  points 
where  Col.  Smith's  expedition  was  intending  to  stop. 
This  expedition  to  which  I  refer,  started  out  from 
Fort  Snelling  in  the  summer,  to  explore  the  country 
on  both  sides  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  as  far 
as  Pembina,  and  to  report  to  the  war  department 
the  best  points  for  the  establishment  of  a  new  military 
post.  It  is  expected  that  Col.  Smith  will  return  by 
the  first  of  next  month ;  and  it  is  probable  he  will 
advise  the  erection  of  a  post  at  Pembina.  When 
that  is  done,  if  it  is  done,  its  effect  will  be  to  draw 
emigrants  from  the  Red  River  settlement  into  Min 
nesota. 

Now  let  me  say  a  word  about  this  Red  River  of 
the  North,  for  it  is  beginning  to  be  a  great  feature 
in  this  upper  country.  It  runs  north,  and  empties 
into  Lake  Winnipeg,  which  connects  with  Hudson's 
Bay  by  Nelson  River.  It  is  a  muddy  and  sluggish 
stream,  navigable  to  the  mouth  of  Sioux  Wood  River 
for  vessels  of  three  feet  draught  for  four  months  in 
the  year.  So  that  the  extent  of  its  navigation 
within  the  territory  alone  (between  Pembina  and  the 
mouth  of  Sioux  Wood  River)  is  417  miles.  Buf 
faloes  still  feed  on  its  western  banks.  Its  tributaries 
are  numerous  and  copious,  abounding  with  the 
choicest  kinds  of  game,  and  skirted  with  a  various 
and  beautiful  foliage.  It  cannot  be  many  years 
before  this  magnificent  valley  shall  pour  its  products 


VALLEY  OF  RED  RIVER  OF  THE  NORTH.         105 

into  our  markets,  and  be  the  theatre  of  a  busy  and 
genial  life. 

One  of  the  first  things  which  drew  my  attention 
to  this  river  was  a  sight  of  several  teams  travelling 
towards  this  vicinity  from  a  north-westerly  direction. 
I  observed  that  the  complexion  of  those  in  the  cara 
van  was  a  little  darker  than  that  of  pure  white  Min- 
nesotians,  and  that  the  carts  were  a  novelty.  "Who 
are  those  people?  and  where  are  they  from?"  I  in 
quired  of  a  friend.  "  They  are  Red  River  people, 
just  arrived — they  have  come  down  to  trade. ' '  Their 
carts  are  made  to  be  drawn  by  one  animal,  either  an 
ox  or  a  horse,  and  are  put  together  without  the  use 
of  a  particle  of  iron.  They  are  excellently  adapted 
to  prairie  travelling.  How  strange  it  seems  !  Here 
are  people  who  have  been  from  twenty  to  thirty  days 
on  their  journey  to  the  nearest  civilized  community. 
This  is  their  nearest  market.  Their  average  rate  of 
travelling  is  about  fifteen  miles  a  day,  and  they  gene 
rally  secure  game  enough  on  the  way  for  their  living. 
I  have  had  highly  interesting  accounts  of  the  Red 
River  settlement  since  I  have  been  here,  both  from 
Mr.  Ross  and  Mr.  Marion,  gentlemen  recently  from 
there.  The  settlement  is  seventy  miles  north  of 
Pembina,  and  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  Its 
population  is  estimated  at  10,000.  It  owes  its  origin 
and  growth  to  the  enterprise  and  success  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Many  of  the  settlers  came 
from  Scotland,  but  the  most  were  from  Canada. 
They  speak  English  and  Canadian  French.  The 


106  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

English  style  of  society  is  well  kept  up,  whether  we 
regard  the  church  with  its  bishop,  the  trader  with 
his  wine  cellar,  the  scholar  with  his  library,  the  offi 
cer  with  his  sinecure,  or  their  paper  currency.  I 
find  they  have  everything  but  a  hotel,  for  I  was 
particular  on  that  point,  though  not  intending  just 
yet  to  go  there.  Probably  the  arrivals  do  not  justify 
such  an  institution,  but  their  cordial  hospitality  will 
make  up  for  any  such  lack,  from  all  I  hear.  They 
have  a  judge  who  gets  a  good  house  to  live  in,  and 
<£1000  sterling  a  year;  but  he  has  nothing  of  con 
sequence  to  do.  He  was  formerly  a  leading  lawyer 
in  Canada. 

The  great  business  of  the  settlement,  of  course, 
is  the  fur  traffic.  An  immense  amount  of  buffalo 
skins  is  taken  in  the  summer  and  autumn,  while 
in  the  winter  smaller  but  more  valuable  furs  arc 
procured.  The  Indians  also  enlist  in  the  hunts  ;  and 
it  is  estimated  that  upwards  of  $200,000  worth  of 
furs  are  annually  taken  from  our  territory  and  sold 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  It  is  high  time  in 
deed  that  a  military  post  should  be  established 
somewhere  on  the  Red  River  by  our  government. 
The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  now  a  powerful  mo 
nopoly.  Not  so  magnificent  and  potent  as  the  East 
India  Company,  it  is  still  a  powerful  combination, 
showering  opulence  on  its  members,  and  reflecting 
a  peculiar  feature  in  the  strength  and  grandeur  of 
the  British  empire — a  power,  which,  to  use  the  elo 
quent  language  of  Daniel  Webster,  "  has  dotted 


VALLEY  OF  RED  RIVER  OF  THE  NORTH.         107 

over  the  whole  surface  of  the  globe  with  her  posses 
sions  and  military  posts — whose  morning  drum-beat, 
following  the  sun,  and  keeping  company  with  the 
hours,  circles  the  earth  daily  with  one  continuous 
and  unbroken  strain  of  martial  music."  The  com 
pany  is  growing  richer  every  year,  and  its  jurisdic 
tion  and  its  lands  will  soon  find  an  availability  never 
dreamed  of  by  its  founders,  unless,  as  may  possibly 
happen,  popular  sovereignty  steps  in  to  grasp  the 
fruits  of  its  long  apprenticeship.  Some  time  ago  I 
believe  the  Canadas  sought  to  annex  this  broad  ex 
panse  to  their  own  jurisdiction.  There  are  about 
two  hundred  members  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com 
pany.  The  charter  gives  them  the  power  to  legis 
late  for  the  settlement.  They  have  many  persons 
in  their  employ  in  England  as  well  as  in  British 
America.  A  clerk,  after  serving  the  company  ten 
years,  with  a  salary  of  about  $500  per  annum,  is 
considered  qualified  for  membership,  with  the  right 
to  vote  in  the  deliberations  of  the  company,  and 
one  share  in  the  profits.  The  profits  of  a  share  last 
year  amounted  to  $10,000  !  A  factor  of  the  com 
pany,  after  serving  ten  years,  is  entitled  to  mem 
bership  with  the  profits  of  two  shares.  The  aristo 
cracy  of  the  settlement  consists  principally  of  retired 
factors  and  other  members  of  the  company,  who 
possess  large  fortunes,  dine  on  juicy  roast  beef,  with 
old  port,  ride  in  their  carriages,  and  enjoy  life  in  a 
very  comfortable  manner.  Two  of  the  company's 
ships  sail  up  into  Hudson's  Bay  every  year  to  bring 


108  MINNESOTA  AND  DAOOTAH. 

merchandise  to  the  settlement  and  take  away  furs.  1 
But  the  greatest  portion  of  the  trade  is  done  with 
Minnesota.  Farming  is  carried  on  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  the  settlement  with  cheerful  ease  and  grand 
success.  I  was  as  much  surprised  to  hear  of  the 
nature  of  their  agriculture  as  of  anything  else  con 
cerning  the  settlement.  The  same  kind  of  crops 
are  raised  as  in  Pennsylvania  or  Maine ;  and  this 
in  a  country,  be  it  remembered,  five  hundred  miles 
and  upwards  north  of  St.  Paul.  Stock  must  be 
easily  raised,  as  it  would  appear  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  driven  down  here  into  the  territory  and  sold  at 
a  great  profit.  Since  I  have  been  here,  a  drove  of 
fine-looking  cattle  from  that  settlement  passed  to 
be  sold  in  the  towns  below,  and  a  drove  of  horses  is 
expected  this  fall.  The  stock  which  comes  from 
there  is  more  hardy  than  can  be  got  anywhere  else, 
and  therefore  is  preferred  by  the  Minnesotians. 

The  following  extract  from  Ex-Governor  Ram 
sey's  address,  recently  delivered  before  the  annual 
fair  at  Minneapolis,  wherein  he  gives  some  results 
of  his  observations  of  the  Red  River  settlement 
during  his  trip  there  in  1851,  will  be  read  with 
much  interest : — 

"  Re-embarking  in  our  canoes,  we  continued  de 
scending  the  river  for  some  fifteen  miles  further, 
through  the  French  portion  of  the  settlement,  lining 

1 "  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  allows  its  servants,  while  making 
a  voyage,  eight  pounds  of  meat  a  day,  and  I  am  told  the  allowance  is 
none  too  much."  (Lieutenant  Howison's  Report  on  Oregon,  p.  7.) 


VALLEY  OF  RED  RIVER  OF  THE  NORTH.         109 

mainly  the  west  or  left  bank  of  the  river,  until  we 
arrived  about  the  centre  of  the  colony,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Assinniboin  tributary  of  Red  River, 
where  we  landed  and  remained  a  few  days,  viewing 
the  colony  and  its  improvements.  I  was  at  that 
time,  and  am  even  now,  when  I  look  back  upon  it, 
lost  in  wonder  at  the  phenomena  which  that  settle 
ment  exhibits  to  the  world,  considering  its  location 
in  an  almost  polar  region  of  the  North.  Imagine  a 
river  flowing  sluggishly  northward  through  a  flat 
alluvial  plain,  and  the  west  side  of  it  lined  continu 
ously  for  over  thirty  miles  with  cultivated  farms, 
each  presenting  those  appearances  of  thrift  around 
them  which  I  mentioned  as  surrounding  the  first 
farms  seen  by  us ;  but  each  farm  with  a  narrow 
frontage  on  the  river  of  only  twenty-four  rods  in 
width,  but  extending  back  for  one  or  two  miles,  and 
each  of  these  narrow  farms  having  their  dwellings  and 
the  farm  out-buildings  spread  only  along  the  river 
front,  with  lawns  sloping  to  the  water's  edge,  and 
shrubbery  and  vines  liberally  trained  around  them, 
and  trees  intermingled — the  whole  presenting  the 
appearance  of  a  long  suburban  village — such  as  you 
might  see  near  our  eastern  sea-board,  or  such  as 
you  find  exhibited  in  pictures  of  English  country 
villages,  with  the  resemblance  rendered  more  strik 
ing  by  the  spires  of  several  large  churches  peeping 
above  the  foliage  of  the  trees  in  the  distance,  white 
washed  school-houses  glistening  here  and  there 
amidst  sunlight  and  green ;  gentlemen's  houses  of 
10 


110  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

pretentious  dimensions  and  grassy  lawns  and  ela 
borate  fencing,  the  seats  of  retired  officers  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  occasionally  interspersed ; 
here  an  English  bishop's  parsonage,  with  a  board 
ing  or  high  school  near  by ;  and  over  there  a  Ca 
tholic  bishop's  massive  cathedral,  with  a  convent 
of  Sisters  of  Charity  attached  ;  whilst  the  two  large 
stone  forts,  at  which  reside  the  officers  of  the  Hud 
son's  Bay  Company,  or  of  the  colony  once  called 
Upper  Fort  Garry,  and  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Assinniboin,  and  the  other  termed  the  Lower  Fort 
Garry,  which  is  twenty  miles  farther  down  the  river, 
helped  to  give  additional  picturesqueness  to  the 
scene.  I  had  almost  forgotten  to  mention  what  is, 
after  all,  the  most  prominent  and  peculiar  feature 
of  that  singular  landscape,  singular  from  its  loca 
tion — and  that  is  the  numerous  wind-mills,  nearly 
twenty  in  all,  which  on  every  point  of  land  made 
by  the  turns  and  bends  in  the  river,  stretched  out 
their  huge  sails  athwart  the  horizon,  and  seemingly 
looked  defiance  at  us  as  invading  strangers,  that 
were  from  a  land  where  steam  or  water  mills  mono 
polize  their  avocation  of  flour  making.  One  morn 
ing  as  we  passed  down  the  principal  high  road,  on 
our  way  to  Lower  Fort  Garry,  the  wind,  after  a 
protracted  calm,  began  to  blow  a  little ;  when  pres 
to  !  each  mill  veered  around  its  sails  to  catch  the 
propitious  breeze,  and  as  the  sails  began  to  revolve, 
it  was  curious  to  observe  the  numerous  carts  that 
shot  out  from  nearly  every  farm-house,  and  hurried 


VALLEY  OF  RED  RIVER  OP  THE  NORTH.        Ill 

along  the  road  to  these  mills,  to  get  ground  their 
grists  of  spring  wheat,  with  which  they  were  re 
spectively  loaded. 

"  Another  incident  during  the  same  trip  that 
struck  us  oddly,  was  seeing  two  ladies  driving  by 
themselves  a  fine  horse  hitched  to  a  buggy  of  mo 
dern  fashion,  just  as  much  at  home  apparently  as 
if  they  were  driving  through  the  streets  of  St.  Paul, 
or  St.  Anthony,  or  Minneapolis,  instead  of  upon 
that  remote  highway  towards  the  North  Pole ;  but 
this  was  not  a  whit  more  novel  than  to  hear  the 
pianoforte,  and  played,  too,  with  both  taste  and 
skill.  While  another  '  lion'  of  those  parts  that  met 
our  view  was  a  topsail  schooner  lying  in  the  river 
at  the  lower  fort,  which  made  occasional  trips  into 
Great  Lake  Winnepeg  of  the  North,  a  hundred 
miles  below. 

"  I  took  occasion  during  my  visit  to  inquire  what 
success  the  farmers  met  with  in  securing  good  crops, 
and  the  profits  of  farmers  generally.  As  to  wheat, 
I  learned  that  the  yield  of  the  spring  variety  was 
quite  equal  in  quantity  and  quality  to  the  crop  of 
that  grain  on  any  more  southern  farms ;  that  in 
raising  barley  they  could  almost  surpass  the  world  ; 
and  the  cereals  generally,  and  all  the  esculent  roots, 
were  easily  raised.  Indian  corn  was  not  planted 
as  a  field  crop,  though  it  was  grown  in  their  gardens. 
In  a  word,  the  capacity  of  their  land  to  produce  al 
most  everything  plentifully  and  well,  was  establish 
ed  ;  but  for  all  this,  farming  did  not  afford  much 


112  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

profit  for  want  of  a  sufficient  market;  beyond  a 
small  demand  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  there 
was  no  outlet  for  their  superabundance ;  and  to  use 
an  Austrian  phase  in  regard  to  Hungarians,  the 
Selkirkers  are  metaphysically  *  smothering  in  their 
own  fat.'  To  remedy  this  state  of  things  they 
were  beginning,  when  I  was  there,  to  turn  their  at 
tention  towards  raising  cattle  and  horses,  for  which 
their  country  is  well  calculated ;  and  the  first  fruits 
of  this  new  decision  given  to  their  farming  ener 
gies,  we  have  already  experienced  in  the  droves  of 
both  which  have  recently  been  driven  from  thence 
and  sold  in  this  vicinity." 

I  think  the  facts  which  I  have  herein  hastily  set 
down  will  dispel  any  apprehension  as  to  the  successful 
cultivation  of  the  soil  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
territory.  It  has  a  health-giving  climate  which  be 
fore  long,  I  predict,  will  nourish  as  patriotic  a  race  of 
men  as  gave  immortality  to  the  noble  plains  of  Helve 
tia.  There  is  one  thing  I  would  mention  which  seems 
to  auspicate  the  speedy  development  of  the  valley  of 
the  North  Red  River.  Next  year  Minnesota  will  pro 
bably  be  admitted  as  a  state ;  and  a  new  territory 
organized  out  of  the  broad  region  embracing  the 
valley  aforesaid  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.  Or  else  it  will  be  divided  by  a  line  north 
and  south,  including  the  western  valley  of  that  river, 
and  extending  as  far  to  the  west  as  the  Missouri 
River.  I  understand  it  will  be  called  Dacotah, 
though  I  at  first  thought  it  would  be  called  Pern- 


VALLEY  OF  RED  RIVER  OF  THE  NORTH.         113 

bina.  There  is  always  a  rush  into  new  territories, 
and  the  proposed  new  territory  of  Dacotah  will 
present  sufficient  inducements  for  a  large  immigra 
tion.  When  the  valley  of  the  North  Red  River 
shall  be  settled,  and  splendid  harvest  fields  adorn 
its  banks ;  when  great  factories  take  the  place  of 
wind-mills,  and  when  railroads  shall  take  the  place 
of  Red  River  carts,  then  we  will  have  new  cause 
to  exclaim, 

"Westward  the  course  if  empire  takes  its  way!" 


LETTER  XL 

THE  TRUE  PIONEER. 

Energy  of  the  pioneer — Frontier  life — Spirit  of  emigration — Advan 
tages  to  tho  farmer  in  moving  West — Advice  in  regard  to  making 
preemption  claims — Abstract  of  the  preemption  law — Hints  to 
the  settler — Character  and  services  of  the  pioneer. 

CROW  WING,  October,  1856. 

I  DESIRE  in  this  letter  to  say  something  about  the 
pioneer,  and  life  on  the  frontier.  And  by  pioneer 
I  mean  the  true  pioneer  who  comes  into  the  West  to 
labor  and  to  share  the  vicissitudes  of  new  settle 
ments  ;  not  the  adventurer,  who  would  repine  at  toil, 
and  gather  where  he  has  not  sown. 

As  I  have  looked  abroad  upon  the  vast  domain 
of  the  West  beyond  the  dim  Missouri,  or  in  the 
immediate  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  I  have  wonder 
ed  at  the  contrast  presented  between  the  compara 
tively  small  number  who  penetrate  to  the  frontier, 
and  that  great  throng  of  men  who  toil  hard  for  a 
temporary  livelihood  in  the  populous  towns  and 
cities  of  the  Union.  And  I  have  thought  if  this 
latter  class  were  at  all  mindful  of  the  opportunities 
for  gain  and  independence  which  the  new  territories 
afforded,  they  would  soon  abandon — m  a  great  mea 
sure  at  least — their  crowded  alleys  in  the  city,  and 
aspire  to  be  cultivators  and  owners  of  the  soil.  Why 

(114) 


THE  TRUE  PIONEER.  115 

there  has  not  been  a  greater  emigration  from  cities 
I  cannot  imagine,  unless  it  is  owing  to  a  misappre 
hension  of  Western  life.  Either  it  is  this,  or  the 
pioneer  is  possessed  of  a  very  superior  degree  of 
energy. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  frontier  man  always 
keeps  on  the  frontier ;  that  he  continues  to  emigrate 
as  fast  as  the  country  around  him  becomes  settled. 
There  is  a  class  that  do  so.  Not,  however,  for  the 
cause  which  has  been  sometimes  humorously  assign 
ed — that  civilization  was  inconvenient  to  them — 
but  because  good  opportunities  arise  to  dispose  of 
the  farms  they  have  already  improved  ;  and  because 
a  further  emigration  secures  them  cheaper  lands. 
The  story  of  the  pioneer  who  was  disturbed  by  so 
ciety,  when  his  nearest  neighbor  lived  fifteen  miles 
off,  even  if  it  be  true,  fails  to  give  the  correct  rea 
son  for  the  migratory  life  of  this  class  of  men. 

It  almost  always  happens  that  wherever  we  go 
somebody  else  has  preceded  us.  Accident  or  enter 
prise  has  led  some  one  to  surpass  us.  Many  of  the 
most  useful  pioneers  of  this  country  have  been  at 
tracted  hither  by  the  accounts  given  of  its  advan 
tages  by  some  one  of  their  friends  who  had  pre 
viously  located  himself  here.  Ask  a  man  why  he 
comes,  and  he  says  a  neighbor  of  his,  or  a  son,  or 
a  brother,  has  been  in  the  territory  for  so  many 
months,  and  he  likes  it  so  well  I  concluded  to  come 
also.  A  very  respectable  gentleman  from  Maine, 
a  shipowner  and  a  man  of  wealth,  who  came  up  on 


116  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

the  boat  with  me  to  St.  Paul,  said  his  son-in-law 
was  in  the  territory,  and  he  had  another  son  at  home 
who  was  bound  to  come,  and  if  his  wife  was  willing 
he  believed  the  whole  family  would  come.  Indeed 
the  excellent  state  of  society  in  the  territory  is  to 
be  attributed  very  much  to  the  fact  that  parents  have 
followed  after  their  children. 

It  is  pretty  obvious  too  why  men  will  leave  poor 
farms  in  New  England,  and  good  farms  in  Ohio,  to 
try  their  fortunes  here.  The  farmer  in  New  Eng 
land,  it  may  be  in  New  Hampshire,  hears  that  the 
soil  of  Minnesota  is  rich  and  free  from  rocks,  that 
there  are  other  favorable  resources,  and  a  salubrious 
climate  such  as  he  has  been  accustomed  to.  He 
concludes  that  it  is  best  to  sell  out  the  place  he  has, 
and  try  ploughing  where  there  are  no  rocks  to  ob 
struct  him.  The  farmer  of  Ohio  does  not  expect 
to  find  better  soil  than  he  leaves ;  but  his  induce 
ments  are  that  he  can  sell  his  land  at  forty  or  fifty 
dollars  an  acre,  and  preempt  as  good  in  Minnesota 
for  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre.  This  operation 
leaves  him  a  surplus  fund,  and  he  becomes  a  more 
opulent  man,  with  better  means  to  adorn  his  farm 
and  to  educate  his  children. 

Those  who  contemplate  coming  West  to  engage  in 
agricultural  employment  should  leave  their  families, 
if  families  they  have,  behind  till  they  have  selected 
a  location  and  erected  some  kind  of  a  habitation ; 
provided,  however,  they  have  no  particular  friend 
whose  hospitality  they  can  avail  themselves  of  till 


THE  TRUE  PIONEER.  117 

their  preliminary  arrangements  are  effected.  It  will 
require  three  months,  I  judge,  for  a  man  to  select  a 
good  claim  (a  quarter  section,  being  160  acres),  and 
fence  and  plough  a  part  of  it  and  to  erect  thereon 
a  cabin.  There  is  never  a  want  of  land  to  preempt 
in  a  new  country.  The  settler  can  always  get  an 
original  claim,  or  buy  out  the  claim  of  another  very 
cheap,  near  some  other  settlers.  The  liberal  policy 
of  our  government  in  regard  to  the  disposal  of  public 
lands  is  peculiarly  beneficial  to  the  settler.  The 
latter  has  the  first  chance.  He  can  go  on  to  a 
quarter  section  which  may  be  worth  fifteen  dollars 
an  acre,  and  preempt  it  before  it  is  surveyed,  and 
finally  obtain  it  for  $1.25  an  acre.  Whereas  the 
speculator  must  wait  till  the  land  is  surveyed  and 
advertised  for  sale ;  and  then  he  can  get  only  what 
has  not  been  preempted,  and  at  a  price  which  it 
brings  at  auction,  not  less  than  $1.25  an  acre. 
Then  what  land  is  not  sold  at  public  sale  is  open  to 
private  entry  at  $1.25  an  acre.  It  is  such  land 
that  bounty  warrants  are  located  on.  Thus  it  is 
seen  the  pioneer  has  the  first  choice.  Why,  I  have 
walked  over  land  up  here  that  would  now  bring  from 
ten  to  twenty  dollars  an  acre  if  it  was  in  the  market, 
and  which  any  settler  can  preempt  and  get  for  $1.25 
an  acre.  I  am  strongly  tempted  to  turn  farmer 
myself,  and  go  out  and  build  me  a  cabin.  The 
speculation  would  be  a  good  one.  But  to  acquire  a 
title  by  preemption  I  must  dwell  on  the  soil,  and 
prove  that  I  have  erected  a  dwelling  and  made  other 


118  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

improvements.  In  other  words,  before  a  man  (or 
any  head  of  a  family)  can  get  a  patent,  he  must 
satisfy  the  land  officers  that  he  is  a  dweller  in  good 
faith  on  the  soil.  It  is  often  the  case,  indeed,  that 
men  get  a  title  by  preemption  who  never  intend  to 
live  on  their  quarter  section.  But  they  do  it  by 
fraud.  They  have  a  sort  of  mental  reservation,  I 
suppose,  when  they  take  the  requisite  oaths.  In 
this  way  many  valuable  claims  are  taken  up  and 
held  along  from  month  to  month,  or  from  year  to 
year,  by  mock  improvements.  A  pretender  will 
make  just  improvements  enough  to  hinder  the  actual 
settler  from  locating  on  the  claim,  or  will  sell  out 
to  him  at  a  good  profit.  A  good  deal  of  money  is 
made  by  these  fictitious  claimants.  It  is  rather 
hard  to  prevent  it,  too,  inasmuch  as  it  is  difficult  to 
disprove  that  a  man  intends  some  time  to  have  a 
permanent  home,  or,  in  fact,  that  his  claim  is  not 
his  legal  residence,  though  his  usual  abiding  place 
is  somewhere  else.  Nothing  could  be  more  delight 
ful  than  for  a  party  of  young  men  who  desire  to 
farm  to  come  out  together  early  in  the  spring,  and 
aid  each  other  in  preempting  land  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  The  preernptor  has  to  pay  about 
five  dollars  in  the  way  of  fees  before  he  gets  through 
the  entire  process  of  securing  a  title.  It  is  a  popu 
lar  error  (much  like  the  opinion  that  a  man  cannot 
swear  to  what  he  sees  through  glass)  that  improve 
ments  of  a  certain  value,  say  fifty  dollars,  are  re 
quired  to  be  made,  or  that  a  certain  number  of  acres 


THE  TRUE  PIONEER.  1 19 

must  be  cultivated.  All  that  is  required,  however, 
is  evidence  that  the  party  has  built  a  house  fit  to 
live  in,  and  has  in  good  faith  proceeded  to  cultivate 
the  soil.  The  law  does  not  permit  a  person  to  pre 
empt  160  acres  but  once  ;  yet  this  provision  is  often 
disregarded,  possibly  from  ignorance,  I  was  about  to 
say,  but  that  cannot  be,  since  the  applicant  must 
make  oath  that  he  has  not  before  availed  himself 
of  the  right  of  preemption. 

I  will  insert  at  this  place  an  abridgment  of  the 
preemption  act  of  4th  September,  1841,  which  I 
made  two  years  ago;  and  which  was  extensively 
published  in  the  new  states  and  territories.  I  am 
happy  to  find,  also,  that  it  has  been  thought  worth 
copying  into  one  or  more  works  on  the  West. 

I.  Lands  subject  to  preemption.  By  sec.  10  of 
said  act  it  is  provided  that  the  public  lands  to  which 
the  Indian  title  had  been  extinguished  at  the  time 
of  the  settlement,  and  which  had  also  been  surveyed 
prior  thereto,  shall  be  subject  to  preemption,  and 
purchase  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  acre.  And  by  the  act  of  22d  July,  1854, 
sec.  12,  the  preemption  of  unsurveyed  lands  is  re 
cognised  as  legal.  Lands  of  the  following  descrip 
tion  are  excepted :  such  as  are  included  in  any  re 
servation,  by  any  treaty,  law,  or  proclamation  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  or  reserved  for  sa 
lines  or  for  other  purposes  ;  lands  included  within  the 
limits  of  any  incorporated  town,  or  which  have  been 
selected  as  the  site  for  a  city  or  town  ;  lands  actu- 


120  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

ally  settled  and  occupied  for  the  purposes  of  trade 
and  not  agriculture ;  and  lands  on  which  are  situ 
ated  any  known  salines  or  mines. 

II.  The  amount  designated  is  any  number  of  acres 
not  exceeding*  one  hundred  and  sixty. 

III.  Who  may  preempt.     "Every  person  being 
the  head  of  a  family,  or  widow,  or  single  man  over 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  being  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  or  having  filed  his  declaration  of 
intention  to  become  a  citizen,  as  required  by  the 
naturalization  laws."     But  no  person  shall  be  en 
titled  to  more  than  one  preemptive  right,  and  no 
person  who  is  the  proprietor  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  land  in  any  state  or  territory  of 
the  United  States,  and  no  person  who  shall  quit  or 
abandon  his  residence  on  his  own  land  to  reside  on 
the  public  land  in  the  same  state  or  territory,  shall 
acquire  any  right  of  preemption. 

IV.  The  method  to  perfect  the  right.     The  pre- 
emptor  must  make  a  settlement  on  the  land  in  per 
son  ;  inhabit  and  improve  the  same,  and  erect  thereon 
a  dwelling.     And  when  the  land  has  been  surveyed 
previous  to  settlement  the  preemptor  shall,  within 
thirty  days  of  the  date  of  the  settlement,  file  with  the 
register  of  the  proper  district  a  written  statement  de 
scribing  the  land  settled  upon,  and  declaring  the  in 
tention  of  such  person  to  claim  the  same  under  the 
provisions  of  the  preemption  law.    And  within  twelve 
months  of  the  date  of  the  settlement  such  person 
shall  make  the  requisite  proof,  affidavit,  and  payment. 


THE  TRUE  PIONEER.  121 

When  unsurveyed  lands  are  preempted  (act  of  1854), 
notice  of  the  specific  tracts  claimed  shall  be  filed 
with  the  surveyor  general,  within  three  months  after 
the  survey  has  been  made  in  the  field.  And  when 
two  or  more  persons  shall  have  settled  on  the  same 
quarter  section,  the  right  of  preemption  shall  be  in 
him  or  her  who  made  the  first  settlement ;  and 
questions  arising  between  different  settlers  shall  be 
decided  by  the  register  and  receiver  of  the  district 
within  which  the  land  is  situated,  subject  to  an 
appeal  to  and  revision  by  the  Secretary  of  the  In 
terior  of  the  United  States. 

And  the  settler  must  make  oath  before  the  re 
ceiver  or  register  that  he  or  she  has  never  had  the 
benefit  of  any  right  of  preemption  under  the  pre 
emption  act :  that  he  or  she  is  not  the  owner  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  in  any  state  or 
territory  of  the  United  States,  nor  hath  he  or  she 
settled  upon  and  improved  said  land  to  sell  the 
same  on  speculation,  but  in  good  faith  to  appropri 
ate  it  to  his  or  her  own  exclusive  use  or  benefit : 
and  that  he  or  she  has  not  directly  or  indirectly 
made  any  agreement  or  contract  in  any  way  or 
manner  with  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  by 
which  the  title  which  he  or  she  might  acquire  from 
the  government  of  the  United  States  should  enure 
in  whole  or  in  part  to  the  benefit  of  any  person 
except  himself  or  herself;  and  if  any  person  taking 
such  oath  shall  swear  falsely  in  the  premises,  he  or 
she  shall  be  subject  to  all  the  pains  and  penalties 
11 


122  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

of  perjury,  and  shall  forfeit  the  money  which  he  or 
she  may  have  paid  for  such  land,  and  all  right  and 
title  to  the  same ;  and  any  grant  or  conveyance 
which  he  or  she  may  have  made,  except  in  the 
hands  of  bona  fide  purchasers  for  a  valuable  con 
sideration,  shall  be  null  and  void. 

Proof  of  the  requisite  settlement  and  improve 
ment  shall  be  made  by  the  preemptor  to  the  satis 
faction  of  the  register  and  receiver,  in  the  district 
in  which  the  lands  so  claimed  lie,  who  shall  each  be 
entitled  to  receive  fifty  cents  from  each  applicant 
for  his  services  rendered  as  aforesaid ;  and  all  as 
signments  and  transfers  of  the  right  hereby  secured 
prior  to  the  issuing  of  the  patent,  shall  be  null  and 
void.  (See  U.  S.  Stat.  at  Large,  vol.  5,  453-458.) 

But  I  was  on  the  point  of  advising  the  settler 
what  he  should  bring  with  him  into  a  new  country 
and  what  leave  behind.  He  should  not  bring  much 
furniture.  It  is  very  expensive  and  troublesome  to 
have  it  transported.  Nor  will  he  need  much  to  be 
gin  with,  or  have  room  for  it.  It  will  cost  nearly 
as  much  to  transport  it  seventy  miles  through  the 
territory  as  it  will  to  bring  it  from  whence  he 
started  within  the  limits  of  the  territory.  Let  him 
pack  up  in  a  small  compass  the  most  precious  part 
of  his  inanimate  household,  and  leave  it  ready 
for  an  agent  to  start  it  after  he  shall  have  found 
a  domicil.  This  will  save  expensive  storage. 
Then  let  his  goods  be  directed  to  the  care  of  some 
responsible  forwarding  merchant  in  a  river  town 


THE  TRUE  PIONEER.  123 

nearest  to  their  final  destination,  that  they  may  be 
taken  care  of  and  not  be  left  exposed  on  the  levee 
when  they  arrive.  St.  Paul  is  now  a  place  of  so 
much  mercantile  importance  and  competition  that 
one  may  buy  provisions,  furniture,  or  agricultural 
tools  cheaper  there  than  he  can  himself  bring  them 
from  the  East.  The  professional  man,  however, 
will  do  well  to  bring  his  books  with  him. 

Let  us  assume  now  that  the  settler  has  got  his 
house  up,  either  a  frame  house  or  of  logs,  with  a 
part  of  his  farm  fenced ;  and  that  he  has  filed  his 
application  for  preemption  at  the  land  office  in  the 
district  in  which  he  resides.  Let  us  suppose  further, 
that  he  is  passing  his  first  autumn  here.  His  house, 
if  he  is  a  man  of  limited  means,  has  but  two  rooms, 
and  they  are  both  on  the  basement  story.  He  has 
just  shelter  enough  for  his  stock,  but  none  for  his 
hay,  which  is  stacked  near  by.  The  probability  is, 
that  he  lives  in  the  vicinity  of  some  clear  stream  or 
copious  spring,  and  has  not,  therefore,  needed  to 
dig  a  well.  The  whole  establishment,  one  would 
think,  who  was  accustomed  to  the  Eastern  style  of 
living,  betrayed  downright  poverty. 

But  let  us  stop  a  moment ;  this  is  the  home  of  a 
pioneer.  He  has  been  industrious,  and  everything 
about  him  exhibits  forethought.  There  is  a  corn 
field  all  fenced  in  with  tamarack  poles.  It  is  paved 
over  with  pumpkins  (for  pumpkins  flourish  wonder 
fully  in  Minnesota),  and  contains  twenty  acres  of 
ripe  corn,  which,  allowing  thirty-five  bushels  to  an 


12-i  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

acre,  is  worth  at  ninety  cents  per  bushel  the  sum  of 
$630.  There  are  three  acres  of  potatoes,  of  the 
very  best  quality,  containing  three  hundred  bushels, 
which,  at  fifty  cents  a  bushel,  are  worth  $150. 
Here  then,  off  of  two  crops,  he  gets  $780,  and  I 
make  a  moderate  estimate  at  that.  Next  year  he 
will  add  to  this  a  crop  of  oats  or  wheat.  The  true 
pioneer  is  a  model  farmer.  He  lays  out  his  work 
two  weeks  in  advance.  Every  evening  finds  him 
further  ahead.  If  there  is  a  rainy  day,  he  knows 
what  to  set  himself  about.  He  lays  his  plans  in  a 
systematic  manner,  and  carries  them  into  execution 
with  energy.  He  is  a  true  pioneer,  and  therefore 
he  is  not  an  idle  man,  nor  a  loafer,  nor  a  weak 
addle-headed  tippler.  Go  into  his  house,  and 
though  you  do  not  see  elegance,  you  can  yet  behold 
intelligence,  and  neatness,  and  sweet  domestic  bliss. 
The  life  of  the  pioneer  is  not  exposed  to  such  hard 
ships  and  delays  as  retarded  the  fortunes  of  the 
settlers  in  the  older  states.  They  had  to  clear 
forests  ;  here  the  land  is  ready  for  the  plough.  And 
though  "  there  is  society  where  none  intrude,"  yet 
he  is  not  by  any  means  beyond  the  boundaries  of 
good  neighborhood.  In  many  cases,  however,  he 
has  left  his  dearest  friends  far  away  in  his  native 
village,  where  his  affections  still  linger.  He  has  to 
endure  painful  separations,  and  to  forego  those 
many  comforts  which  spring  from  frequent  meetings 
under  the  parental  roof,  and  frequent  converse  with 
the  most  attractive  scenes  of  youth.  But  to  com- 


THE  TRUE  PIONEER.  125 

pensate  for  these  things  he  can  feel  that  the  labor 
of  the  pioneer,  aside  from  its  pecuniary  advantage 
to  himself,  is  of  service  to  the  state,  and  a  helpmate 
to  succeeding  generations. 

"There  are,  who,  distant  from  their  native  soil, 
Still  for  their  own  and  country's  glory  toil : 
While  some,  fast  rooted  to  their  parent  spot, 
In  life  arc  useless,  and  in  death  forgot !" 


LETTER  XII. 

SPECULATION  AND  BUSINESS. 

Opportunities  to  select  farms — Otter  Tail  Lake — Advantages  of  the 
actual  settler  over  the  speculator — Policy  of  new  states  as  to  taxing 
non-residents — Opportunities  to  make  money — Anecdote  of  Col. 
Perkins — Mercantile  business — Price  of  money — Intemperance — 
Education — The  free  school. 

CROW  WING,  October,  1856. 

IT  is  maintained  by  the  reviewers,  I  believe,  that 
the  duller  a  writer  is,  the  more  accurate  he  should 
be.  In  the  outset  of  this  letter,  I  desire  to  testify 
my  acquiescence  in  the  justice  of  that  dogma,  for 
if,  like  neighbor  Dogberry,  "  I  were  as  tedious  as  a 
king,"  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  bestow  it 
all  without  a  measure  of  utility. 

I  shall  try  to  answer  some  questions  which  I 
imagine  might  be  put  by  different  classes  of  men 
who  are  interested  in  this  part  of  the  west.  My 
last  letter  had  some  hints  to  the  farmer,  and  I  can 
only  add,  in  addition,  for  his  benefit,  that  the  most 
available  locations  are  now  a  considerable  distance 
above  St.  Paul.  The  valley  of  the  St.  Peter's  is  pretty 
much  taken  up ;  and  so  of  the  valley  of  the  Missis 
sippi  for  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles  on  either  side  to 
a  point  a  hundred  miles  above  St.  Paul.  One  of 

(126) 


SPECULATION  AND  BUSINESS.  127 

the  land  officers  at  Minneapolis  informed  me  that 
there  were  good  preemption  claims  to  be  had  fifteen 
miles  west,  that  being  as  far  as  the  country  was 
thickly  settled.  One  of  the  finest  regions  now  un 
occupied,  that  I  know  of,  not  to  except  even  the 
country  on  the  Crow  Wing  River,  is  the  land  bor 
dering  on  Otter  Tail  Lake.  For  forty  miles  all  round 
that  lake  the  land  is  splendid.  More  than  a  dozen 
disinterested  eye-witnesses  have  described  that 
region  to  me  in  the  most  glowing  terms.  In  beauty, 
in  fertility,  and  in  the  various  collateral  resources 
which  make  a  farming  country  desirable,  it  is  not 
surpassed.  It  lies  south  of  the  picturesque  high 
lands  or  hauteurs  des  terres,  and  about  midway 
between  the  sources  of  the  Crow  Wing  and  North 
Red  Rivers.  From  this  town  the  distance  to  it  is 
sixty  miles.  The  lake  itself  is  ten  miles  long  and 
five  miles  in  width.  The  water  is  clear  and  deep, 
and  abounds  with  white  fish  that  are  famous  for 
their  delicious  flavor.  The  following  description, 
which  I  take  from  Captain  Pope's  official  narrative 
of  his  exploration,  is  a  reliable  description  of  this 
delightful  spot,  now  fortunately  on  the  eve  of  being 
settled — "  To  the  west,  north-west,  and  north-east, 
the  whole  country  is  heavily  timbered  with  oak,  elm, 
ash,  maple,  birch,  bass,  &c.,  &c.  Of  these  the 
sugar  maple  is  probably  the  most  valuable,  and  in 
the  vicinity  of  Otter  Tail  Lake  large  quantities  of 
maple  sugar  are  manufactured  by  the  Indians.  The 
wild  rice,  which  exists  in  these  lakes  in  the  most 


128  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

lavish  profusion,  constitutes  a  most  necessary  article 
of  food  with  the  Indians,  and  is  gathered  in  large 
quantities  in  the  months  of  September  and  October. 
To  the  east  the  banks  of  the  lake  are  fringed  with 
heavy  oak  and  elm  timber  to  the  width  of  one  mile. 
The  whole  region  of  country  for  fifty  miles  in  all 
directions  around  this  lake  is  among  the  most  beau 
tiful  and  fertile  in  the  world.  The  fine  scenery  of 
lakes  and  open  groves  of  oak  timber,  of  winding 
streams  connecting  them,  and  beautifully  rolling 
country  on  all  sides,  renders  this  portion  of  Minne 
sota  the  garden  spot  of  the  north- west.  It  is  impos 
sible  in  a  report  of  this  character  to  describe  the 
feeling  of  admiration  and  astonishment  with  which 
we  first  beheld  the  charming  country  in  the  vicinity 
of  this  lake ;  and  were  I  to  give  expression  to  my 
own  feelings  and  opinions  in  reference  to  it,  I  fear 
they  would  be  considered  the  ravings  of  a  visionary 
or  an  enthusiast."1  But  let  me  say  to  the  specu 
lator  that  he  need  not  covet  any  of  these  broad 
acres.  There  is  little  chance  for  him.  Before  that 
land  can  be  bought  at  public  sale  or  by  mere  pur 
chasers  at  private  sale,  it  will,  I  feel  sure,  be  entirely 
occupied  by  actual  settlers.  And  so  it  ought  to  be. 
The  good  of  the  territory  is  promoted  by  that 

1  To  illustrate  the  rapid  progress  which  is  going  on  constantly,  I 
would  remark  that  in  less  than  a  month  after  leaving  Crow  Wing,  I 
received  a  letter  from  there  informing  me  that  Messrs.  Crittenden, 
Cathcart,  and  others  had  been  to  Otter  Tail  Lake  and  laid  out  a  town 
which  they  call  Otter  Tail  City.  The  standing  and  means  of  the  men 
engaged  in  the  enterprise,  are  a  sure  guaranty  of  its  success. 


SPECULATION  AND  BUSINESS.  129 

beneficent  policy  of  our  public  land  laws  which  gives 
the  actual  settler  the  first  and  best  chance  to  acquire 
a  title  by  preemption. 

Speculators  have  located  a  great  many  land  war 
rants  in  Minnesota.  Some  have  been  located  on 
lakes,  some  on  swamps,  some  on  excellent  land.  Of 
course  the  owner,  who,  as  a  general  thing,  is  a  non 
resident,  leaves  his  land  idle  for  something  to  "  turn 
up"  to  make  it  profitable.  There  it  stands  doing 
no  good,  but  on  the  contrary  is  an  encumbrance  to 
the  settler,  who  has  to  travel  over  and  beyond  it 
without  meeting  the  face  of  a  neighbor  in  its  vici 
nity.  The  policy  of  new  states  is  to  tax  non-resi 
dent  landholders  at  a  high  rate.  When  the  terri 
tory  becomes  a  state,  and  is  obliged  to  raise  a 
revenue,  some  of  these  fellows  outside,  who,  to  use 
a  phrase  common  up  here,  have  plastered  the  coun 
try  over  with  land  warrants,  will  have  to  keep  a 
lookout  for  the  tax-gatherer.  Now  I  do  not  mean 
to  discourage  moneyed  men  from  investing  in  Min 
nesota  lands.  I  do  not  wish  to  raise  any  bugbears, 
but  simply  to  let  them  know  that  hoarding  up 
large  tracts  of  land  without  making  improvements, 
and  leaving  it  to  increase  in  value  by  the  toil  and 
energy  of  the  pioneer,  is  a  way  of  doing  things 
which  is  not  popular  with  the  actual  settler.  But 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  money  to  be  made  by  judi 
cious  investments  in  land.  Buying  large  tracts  of 
land  I  believe  to  be  the  least  profitable  speculation, 
unless  indeed  the  purchaser  knows  exactly  whut  he 


• 


130  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

is  buying,  and  is  on  hand  at  the  public  sale  to  get 
the  benefit  of  a  second  choice.  I  say  second  choice, 
because  the  preemptor  has  had  the  first  choice  long 
ago,  and  it  may  be  before  the  land  was  surveyed. 
What  I  would  recommend  to  speculators  is  to  pur 
chase  in  some  good  town  sites.  Buy  in  two  or  three, 
and  if  one  or  two  happen  to  prove  failures,  the  pro 
fits  on  the  other  will  enable  you  to  bear  the  loss.  I 
know  of  a  man  who  invested  $6000  at  St.  Paul  six 
years  ago.  He  has  sold  over  $30,000  worth  of  the 
land,  and  has  as  much  more  left.  This  is  but  an 
ordinary  instance.  The  advantage  of  buying  lots 
in  a  town  arises  from  the  rapid  rise  of  the  value  of 
the  land,  the  ready  market,  and  withal  the  mode 
rate  prices  at  which  they  can  be  procured  during 
the  early  part  of  its  history. 

To  such  persons  as  have  a  desire  to  come  West, 
and  are  not  inclined  to  be  farmers,  and  who  have 
not  capital  enough  to  engage  in  mercantile  business, 
there  is  sufficient  employment.  A  new  country 
always  opens  avenues  of  successful  business  for 
every  industrious  man  and  woman  ;  more  kinds  even 
than  I  could  well  enumerate.  Every  branch  of 
mechanics  needs  workmen  of  all  grades  ;  from  the 
boy  who  planes  the  rough  boards  to  the  head  work 
man.  Teaming  affords  good  employment  for  young 
men  the  year  round.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
saw-mills.  A  great  deal  of  building  is  going  on 
constantly;  and  those  who  have  good  trades  get 
$2.50  per  day.  I  am  speaking,  of  course,  of  the 


SPECULATION  AND  BUSINESS.  181 

territory  in  general.  One  of  the  most  profitable 
kinds  of  miscellaneous  business  is  surveying.  This 
art  requires  the  services  of  large  numbers  ;  not  only 
to  survey  the  public  lands,  but  town  sites  and  the 
lands  of  private  individuals.  Labor  is  very  high 
everywhere  in  the  West,  whether  done  by  men, 
women,  or  children ; — even  the  boys,  not  fourteen 
years  old,  who  clean  the  knives  and  forks  on  the 
steamboats,  get  $20  a  month  and  are  found.  But 
the  best  of  it  all  is,  that  when  a  man  earns  a  few  dol 
lars  he  can  easily  invest  it  in  a  piece  of  land,  and 
double  his  money  in  three  months,  perhaps  in  one 
month.  One  of  the  merchant  princes  of  Boston, 
the  late  Col.  T.  H.  Perkins,  published  a  notice  in  a 
Boston  paper  in  1789,  he  being  then  25,  that  he 
would  soon  embark  on  board  the  ship  Astrea  for 
Canton,  and  that  if  any  one  desired  to  commit  an 
"  adventure"  to  him,  they  might  be  assured  of  his 
exertions  for  their  interests.  The  practice  of  send 
ing  "  adventures"  "  beyond  the  seas"  is  not  so  com 
mon  as  it  was  once  ;  and  instead  thereof  men  invest 
their  funds  in  western  prizes.  But  let  me  remark 
in  regard  to  the  fact  I  relate,  that  it  shows  the  true 
pioneer  spirit.  Col.  Perkins  was  a  pioneer.  His 
energy  led  him  beyond  his  counting-room,  and  he 
reaped  the  reward  of  his  exertions  in  a  great  for 
tune. 

I  have  now  a  young  man  in  my  mind  who  came 
to  a  town  ten  miles  this  side  of  St.  Paul,  six  months 
ago,  with  $500.  He  commenced  trading,  and  has 


132  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

already,  by  good  investments  and  the  profits  of  his 
business,  doubled  his  money.  Everything  that  one 
can  eat  or  wear  brings  a  high  price,  or  as  high  as 
it  does  in  any  part  of  the  West.  The  number  of 
visitors  and  emigrants  is  so  large  that  the  produc 
tions  of  the  territory  are  utterly  inadequate  to  sup 
ply  the  market.  Therefore  large  quantities  of  pro 
visions  have  to  be  brought  up  the  river  from  the 
lower  towns.  At  Swan  River,  100  miles  this  side 
of  St.  Paul,  pork  is  worth  $35.  Knowing  that 
pork  constitutes  a  great  part  of  the  "victuals"  up 
this  way,  though  far  from  being  partial  to  the  ar 
ticle,  I  tried  it  when  I  dined  at  Swan  River  to  see 
if  it  was  good,  and  found  it  to  be  very  excellent. 
Board  for  laboring  men  must  be  about  four  dollars 
a  week.  For  transient  guests  at  Crow  Wing  it  is 
one  dollar  a  day. 

I  have  heard  it  said  that  money  is  scarce.  It  is 
possible.  It  certainly  commands  a  high  premium ; 
but  the  reason  is  that  there  are  such  splendid  op 
portunities  to  make  fortunes  by  building  and  buying 
and  selling  city  lots.  A  man  intends  that  the  rent 
of  a  house  or  store  shall  pay  for  its  construction  in 
three  years.  The  profits  of  adventure  justify  a 
man  in  paying  high  interest.  If  a  man  has  money 
enough  to  buy  a  pair  of  horses  and  a  wagon,  he  can 
defy  the  world.  These  are  illustrations  to  show 
why  one  is  induced  to  pay  interest.  I  do  not 
think,  however,  money  is  "tight."  I  never  saw 


SPECULATION  AND  BUSINESS.  133 

people  so  free  with  their  money,  or  appear  to  have 
it  in  so  great  abundance. 

There  is  one  drawback  which  this  territory  ha? 
in  common  with  the  greater  part  of  the  West,  and 
in  fact  of  the  civilized  world.  It  is  not  only  a 
drawback,  but  a  nuisance  anywhere ;  I  mean  drink 
ing  or  whiskey  shops.  The  greater  proportion  of 
the  settlers  are  temperate  men,  I  am  sure;  but 
in  almost  every  village  there  are  places  where 
the  meanest  kind  of  intoxicating  liquor  is  sold. 
There  are  some  who  sell  liquor  to  the  Indians. 
But  such  business  is  universally  considered  as  the 
most  degraded  that  a  mean  man  can  be  guilty  of. 
It  is  filthy  to  see  men  staggering  about  under  the 
influence  of  bad  whiskey,  or  of  any  kind  of  whiskey. 
He  who  sends  a  young  husband  to  his  new  cabin 
home  intoxicated,  to  mortify  and  torment  his  family ; 
or  who  sells  liquor  to  the  uneducated  Indians,  that 
they  may  fight  and  murder,  must  have  his  conscience 
— if  he  has  any  at  all — cased  over  with  sole  leather. 
Mr.  Gough  is  needed  in  the- West. 

Minnesota  is  not  behind  in  education.  Ever  since 
Governor  Slade,  of  Vermont,  brought  some  bright 
young  school  mistresses  up  to  St.  Paul  (in  1849), 
common  school  education  has  been  diffusing  its  pre 
cious  influences.  The  government  wisely  sets  apart 
two  sections  of  land — the  16th  and  36th — in  every 
township  for  school  purposes.  A  township  is  six 
miles  square ;  and  the  two  sections  thus  reserved  in 
12 


184  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

each  township  comprise  1280  acres.  Other  territo 
ries  have  the  same  provision.  This  affords  a  very 
good  fund  for  educational  uses,  or  rather  it  is  a 
great  aid  to  the  exertions  of  the  people.  There  are 
some  flourishing  institutions  of  learning  in  the  ter 
ritory.  But  the  greatest  institution  after  all  in  the 
country — the  surest  protection  of  our  liberties  and 
our  laws — is  the  FREE  SCHOOL. 


LETTER   XIII. 

CROW  WING  TO  ST.  CLOUD. 

Pleasant  drive  in  the  stage — Scenery — The  past — Fort  Ripley  Ferry — 
Delay  at  the  Post  Office — Belle  Prairie — A  Catholic  priest — Dinner 
at  Swan  River— Potatoes— Arrival  atWatab— St.  Cloud. 

ST.  CLOUD,  October,  1856. 

YESTERDAY  morning  at  seven  I  took  my  departure, 
on  the  stage,  from  Crow  Wing.  It  was  a  most  de 
lightful  morning,  the  air  not  damp,  but  bracing ; 
and  the  welcome  rays  of  the  sun  shed  a  mellow  lus 
tre  upon  a  scene  of  "sylvan  beauty."  The  first 
hour's  ride  was  over  a  road  I  had  passed  in  the 
dark  on  my  upward  journey,  and  this  was  the  first 
view  I  had  of  the  country  immediately  below  Crow 
Wing.  No  settlements  were  to  be  seen,  because  the 
regulations  of  military  reservations  preclude  their 
being  made  except  for  some  purpose  connected  with 
the  public  interests.  A  heavy  shower  the  night  be 
fore  had  effectually  laid  the  dust,  and  we  bounded 
along  on  the  easy  coach  in  high  spirits.  The  view 
of  the  prairie  stretching  "in  airy  undulations  far 
away,"  and  of  the  eddying  current  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  there  as  everywhere  deep  and  majestic,  with 
its  banks  skirted  with  autumn-colored  foliage,  was 
enough  to  commend  the  old  fashioned  system  of 

stages  to  more  general  use.     Call  it  poetry  or  what 

(135) 


136  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

you  please,  yet  the  man  who  can  contemplate  with 
indifference  the  wonderful  profusion  of  nature,  un 
developed  by  art — inviting,  yet  never  touched  by 
the  plough — must  lack  some  one  of  the  senses.  In 
deed,  this  picture,  so  characteristic  of  the  new  lands 
of  the  West,  seems  to  call  into  existence  a  new 
sense.  The  view  takes  in  a  broad  expanse  which 
has  never  produced  a  stock  of  grain  ;  and  which 
has  been  traversed  for  ages  past  by  a  race  whose 
greatest  and  most  frequent  calamity  was  hunger. 
If  we  turn  to  its  past  there  is  no  object  to  call  back 
our  thoughts.  All  is  oblivion.  There  are  no  ruins 
to  awaken  curious  images  of  former  life — no  vestige 
of  humanity — nothing  but  the  present  generation 
of  nature.  And  yet  there  are  traces  of  the  past 
generations  of  nature  to  be  seen.  The  depressions 
of  the  soil  here  and  there  to  be  observed,  covered 
with  a  thick  meadow  grass,  are  unmistakeable  indi 
cations  of  lakes  which  have  now  "vanished  into 
thin  air."  That  these  gentle  hollows  were  once 
filled  with  water  is  the  more  certain  from  the  ap 
pearance  of  the  shores  of  the  present  lakes,  where 
the  low  water  mark  seems  to  have  grown  lower  and 
lower  every  year.  But  if  the  past  is  blank,  these 
scenes  are  suggestive  of  happy  reflections  as  to  the 
future.  The  long  perspective  is  radiant  with  busy 
life  and  cheerful  husbandry.  New  forms  spring 
into  being.  Villages  and  towns  spring  up  as  if  by 
magic,  along  whose  streets  throngs  of  men  are 
passing.  And  thus,  as  "  coming  events  cast  their 


CROW  WING  TO  ST.  CLOUD.  137 

shadows  before,"  does  the  mind  wander  from  the 
real  to  the  probable.  An  hour  and  a  half  of  this 
sort  of  revery,  and  we  had  come  to  the  Fort  Ripley 
ferry,  over  which  we  were  to  go  for  the  mail. 
That  ferry  (and  I  have  seen  others  on  the  river 
like  it)  is  a  marvellous  invention.  It  is  a  flat-boat 
which  is  quickly  propelled  either  way  across  the 
river  by  means  of  the  resistance  which  it  offers  to 
the  current.  Its  machinery  is  so  simple  I  will  try 
to  describe  it.  In  the  first  place  a  rope  is  stretched 
across  the  river  from  elevated  objects  on  either  side. 
Each  end  of  the  boat  is  made  fast  to  this  line  by 
pullies,  which  can  be  taken  up  or  let  out  at  the 
fastenings  on  the  boat.  All  that  is  required  to  start 
the  boat  is  to  bring  the  bow,  by  means  of  the  pully, 
to  an  acute  angle  with  the  current.  The  after 
part  of  the  boat  presents  the  principal  resistance  to 
the  current  by  sliding  a  thick  board  into  the  water 
from  the  upper  side.  As  the  water  strikes  against 
this,  the  boat  is  constantly  attempting  to  describe  a 
circle,  which  it  is  of  course  prevented  from  doing  by 
the  current,  and  so  keeps  on — for  it  must  move 
somewhere — in  a  direction  where  the  obstruction  is 
less.  It  certainly  belongs  to  the  science  of  hydrau 
lics,  for  it  is  not  such  a  boat  as  can  be  propelled  by 
steam  or  wind.  I  had  occasion  recently  to  cross 
the  Mississippi  on  a  similar  ferry,  early  in  the 
morning,  and  before  the  ferryman  was  up.  The 
proprietor  of  it  was  with  me ;  yet  neither  of  us 
knew  much  of  its  practical  operation.  I  soon  pulled 


138  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

the  head  of  the  boat  towards  the  current,  but  left 
down  the  resistance  board,  or  whatever  it  is  called, 
at  the  bow  as  well  as  at  the  stern.  This,  of  course, 
impeded  our  progress ;  but  we  got  over  in  a  few 
minutes ;  and  I  felt  so  much  interested  in  this  new 
kind  of  navigation,  that  I  would  have  been  glad  to 
try  the  voyage  over  again. 

On  arriving  within  the  square  of  the  garrison,  I 
expected  to  find  the  mail  ready  for  delivery  to  the 
driver ;  but  we  had  to  wait  half  an  hour.  The  mail 
is  only  weekly,  and  there  was  nothing  of  any  con 
sequence  to  change.  We  repaired  to  the  post  office, 
which  was  in  a  remote  corner  of  a  store-room, 
where  the  postmaster  was  busy  making  up  his  mail. 
Some  of  the  officers  had  come  in  with  documents 
which  they  wished  to  have  mailed.  And  while  we 
stood  Vaiting,  corporals  and  privates,  servants  of 
other  officers  brought  in  letters  which  Lieutenant 
So-and-so  "  was  particularly  desirous  of  having 
mailed  this  moaning."  The  driver  was  magnani 
mous  enough  to  submit  to  me  whether  we  should 
wait.  We  all  felt  accommodating — the  postmaster 
I  saw  was  particularly  so — and  we  concluded  to  wait 
till  everything  was  in,  and  perhaps  we  would  have 
waited  for  some  one  to  write  a  letter.  I  could  not 
but  think  it  would  be  a  week  before  another  mail 
day ;  and  still  I  could  not  but  think  these  unneces 
sary  morning  hindrances  were  throwing  a  part  of 
our  journey  into  the  night  hours.  Returning  again 
to  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  by  our  fine  ferry, 


CROW  WING  TO  ST.  CLOUD.  139 

we  soon  passed  the  spacious  residence  of  Mr.  Olm- 
sted,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  territory.  We 
made  a  formal  halt  at  his  door  to  see  if  there  were 
any  passengers.  Mr.  Olmsted  has  a  large  farm 
under  good  cultivation,  and  several  intelligent  young 
men  in  his  service.  In  that  neighborhood  are  some 
other  as  handsome  farms  as  I  ever  saw ;  but  I  think 
they  are  on  the  reservation,  and  are  cultivated  under 
the  patronage  of  the  war  department.  The  winter 
grain  was  just  up,  and  its  fresh  verdure  afforded  an 
agreeable  contrast  with  the  many  emblems  of  decay 
ing  nature.  It  was  in  the  middle  of  the  forenoon 
that  we  reached  Belle  Prairie,  along  which  are  many 
good  farm  houses  occupied  by  half-breeds.  There 
is  a  church  and  a  school-house.  In  the  cemetery 
is  a  large  cross  painted  black  and  white,  and  from 
its  imposing  appearance  it  cannot  fail  to  make  a  so 
lemn  impression  on  minds  which  revere  any  tangible 
object  that  is  considered  sacred.  A  very  comfort 
able-looking  house  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  the 
residence  of  a  Catholic  priest,  who  has  lived  for 
many  years  in  that  section,  spreading  among  the 
ignorant  a  knowledge  of  Christianity,  and  minister 
ing  to  their  wants  in  the  hour  of  death.  And 
though  I  am  no  Catholic,  I  could  not  but  regard  the 
superiority  of  that  kind  of  preaching — for  visiting 
the  sick,  consoling  the  afflicted,  and  rebuking  sin 
by  daily  admonitions,  is  the  true  preaching  of  the 
Gospel — over  the  pompous  declamation  which  now 
too  often  usurps  the  pulpit. 


140  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

The  dinner  was  smoking  hot  on  the  table  when 
we  drove  up  to  the  hotel  at  Swan  River ;  and  so 
charming  a  drive  in  the  pure  air  had  given  me  a 
keen  appetite.  The  dinner  (and  I  speak  of  these 
matters  because  they  are  quite  important  to  travel 
lers)  was  in  all  respects  worthy  of  the  appetite.  The 
great  staple  article  of  Minnesota  soil  appears  to  be 
potatoes,  for  they  were  never  known  to  be  better 
anywhere  else — Eastport  not  excepted — and  at  our 
table  d'hote  they  were  a  grand  collateral  to  the  beef 
and  pork.  The  dessert  consisted  of  nice  home 
made  apple  pies  served  with  generosity,  and  we  had 
tea  or  milk  or  water,  as  requested,  for  a  beverage. 
After  partaking  of  a  dinner  of  this  kind,  the  rest 
of  the  day's  journey  was  looked  forward  to  with  no 
unpleasant  emotions.  The  stage  happened  to  be 
lightly  loaded,  and  we  rolled  along  with  steady  pace, 
and  amidst  jovial  talk,  till  we  reached  the  thriving,  but 
to  me  not  attractive,  town  of  Watab.  Three  houses 
had  been  put  up  within  the  short  time  since  I  had 
stopped  there.  We  got  into  Mr.  Oilman's  tavern 
at  sundown.  I  was  rejoiced  to  find  a  horse  and 
carriage  waiting  for  me,  which  had  been  kindly  sent 
by  a  friend  to  bring  me  to  St.  Cloud.  It  is  seven 
miles  from  Watab  to  this  town.  It  was  a  charming 
moonlight  evening,  and  I  immediately  started  on 
with  the  faithful  youth  who  had  charge  of  the  car 
riage,  to  enjoy  my  supper  and  lodging  under  the 
roof  of  my  hospitable  friend  at  St.  Cloud. 


LETTER  XIV. 

ST.  CLOUD.— THE  PACIFIC  TRAIL. 

Agreeable  visit  at  St.  Cloud — Description  of  the  place — Causes  of  the 
rapid  growth  of  towns — Gen.  Lowry — The  back  country — Gov. 
Stevens's  report — Mr.  Lambert's  views — Interesting  account  of 
Mr.  A.  W.  Tinkham's  exploration. 

ST.  CLOUD,  October,  1856. 

IF  I  follow  the  injunction  of  that  most  impartial 
and  worthy  critic,  Lord  Jeffrey,  which  is,  that  tour 
ists  should  describe  those  things  which  make  the 
pleasantest  impression  on  their  own  minds,  I  should 
begin  with  an  account  of  the  delightful  entertain 
ment  which  genuine  hospitality  and  courtesy  have 
here  favored  me  with.  I  passed  Blannerhasset's 
Island  once,  and  from  a  view  of  the  scenery,  sought 
something  of  that  inspiration  which,  from  reading 
Wirt's  glowing  description  of  it,  I  thought  would  be 
excited ;  but  the  reality  was  far  below  my  anticipa 
tion.  If  applied  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  however,  at  this  place,  where  the  Sauk 
Rapids  terminate,  that  charming  description  would 
be  no  more  than  an  adequate  picture.  The  resi 
dence  of  my  friend  is  a  little  above  the  limits  of  St. 
Cloud,  midway  on  the  gradual  rise  from  the  river  to 

the  prairie.     It  is  a  neat  white  two-story  cottage, 

(141) 


142  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

with  a  piazza  in  front.  The  yard  extends  to  the 
water's  edge,  and  in  it  is  a  grove  of  handsome  shade 
trees.  Now  that  the  leaves  have  fallen,  we  can  sit 
on  the  piazza  and  have  a  full  view  of  the  river 
through  the  branches  of  the  trees.  The  river  is 
here  very  clear  and  swift,  with  a  hard  bottom ;  and 
if  it  were  unadorned  with  its  cheerful  foliage- 
covered  banks,  the  view  of  it  would  still  add  a 
charm  to  a  residence.  There  is  a  mild  tranquillity, 
blended  with  the  romance  of  the  scene,  admirably 
calculated  to  raise  in  the  mind  emotions  the  most 
agreeable  and  serene.  For  nature  is  a  great  in 
structor  and  purifier.  As  Talfourd  says  in  that 
charming  little  volume  of  Vacation  Rambles,  "  to 
commune  with  nature  and  grow  familiar  with  all  her 
aspects,  surely  softens  the  manners  as  much,  at  the 
least,  as  the  study  of  the  liberal  arts." 

St.  Cloud  is  favorably  located  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  river,  seventy-five  miles  above  St.  Paul.  It  is 
just  enough  elevated  to  have  good  drainage  facilities, 
should  it  become  densely  populous.  For  many  years 
it  was  the  seat  of  a  trading  post  among  the  Winne- 
bagoes.  But  the  date  of  its  start  as  a  town  is  not 
more  than  six  months  ago  ;  since  when  it  has  been 
advancing  with  unsurpassed  thrift,  on  a  scale  of 
affluence  and  durability.  Its  main  street  is  surely 
a  street  in  other  respects  than  in  the  name  ;  for  it 
has  on  either  side  several  neatly  built  three-story 
blocks  of  stores,  around  which  the  gathering  of 
teams  and  of  people  denotes  such  an  activity  of 


. 

ST.  CLOUD. — THE  PACIFIC  TRAIL.  143 

business  as  to  dispel  any  idea  that  the  place  is  got 
up  under  false  pretences.  The  St.  Cloud  advertise 
ments  in  the  St.  Paul  daily  papers  contain  the  cards 
of  about  forty  different  firms  or  individuals,  which 
is  a  sort  of  index  to  the  business  of  the  place.  A 
printing  press  is  already  in  the  town,  and  a  paper 
will  in  a  few  days  be  issued.  There  are  now  two 
hotels  ;  one  of  which  (the  Stearns  House),  it  is  said, 
cost  $9000.  A  flourishing  saw-mill  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  in  a  few  weeks  another  one  was  built  in  its 
place.  An  Episcopal  church  is  being  erected.  The 
steamer  "  H.  M.  Rice"  runs  between  here  and  St. 
Anthony.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  this  is  the  head 
of  the  Upper  Mississippi  navigation,  but  such  is  not 
the  case.  The  Sauk  Rapids  which  terminate  here 
are  an  obstruction  to  continuous  navigation  between 
St.  Anthony  and  Crow  Wing,  but  after  you  get  to 
the  latter  place  (where  the  river  is  twenty  feet  deep) 
there  is  good  navigation  for  two  hundred  miles. 
There  are  several  roads  laid  out  to  intersect  at  St. 
Cloud,  for  the  construction  of  which,  I  believe,  the 
government  has  made  some  appropriation.  Town 
lots  are  sold  on  reasonable  terms  to  those  who  in 
tend  to  make  improvements  on  them,  which  is  the 
true  policy  for  any  town,  but  the  general  market 
price  ranges  from  $100  to  $1000  a  lot.  The  town 
is  not  in  the  hands  of  capitalists,  though  moneyed 
men  are  interested  in  it.  General  Lowry  is  a  large 
proprietor.  He  lives  at  Arcadia,  just  above  the  town 
limits,  and  has  a  farm  consisting  of  three  hundred 


14-1  MINNESOTA   AND  DACOTAII. 

acres  of  the  most  splendid  land,  which  is  well  stocked 
with  cattle  and  durably  fenced.  A  better  barn,  or 
a  neater  farm-yard  than  he  has,  cannot  be  found 
between  Boston  and  Worcester.  And  while  speak 
ing  of  barns  I  would  observe  that  the  old  New 
England  custom  of  having  good  barns  is  better 
observed  in  Minnesota  than  anywhere  else  in  the 
West.  General  Lowry  has  been  engaged  in  mer 
cantile  business.  He  was  formerly  ,a  member  of 
the  territorial  council,  and  is  a  very  useful  and  valu 
able  citizen  of  the  territory. 

It  would  not  be  more  surprising  to  have  Eastern 
people  doubt  some  of  the  statements  concerning  the 
growth  of  Western  towns,  than  it  was  for  the  king 
of  Siam  to  doubt  that  there  was  any  part  of  the 
world  where  water  changed  from  liquid  to  a  hard 
substance.  His  majesty  knew  nothing  about  ice. 
Now,  there  are  a  good  many  handsome  villages  in 
the  East  which  hardly  support  one  store.  Not  that 
people  in  such  a  village  do  not  consume  as  much  or 
live  in  finer  style ;  but  the  reason  is  that  they  are 
oH  settlers  who  produce  very  much  that  they  live 
on,  and  who,  by  great  travelling  facilities,  are  able 
to  scatter  their  trading  custom  into  some  commer 
cial  metropolis.  Suppose,  however,  one  of  your 
large  villages  to  be  so  newly  settled  that  the  people 
have  had  no  chance  to  raise  anything  from  their 
gardens  or  their  fields,  and  are  obliged  to  buy  all 
they  are  to  eat  and  all  that  is  to  furnish  their  dwell 
ings,  or  equip  their  shops,  or  stock  their  farms; 


ST.  CLOUD. — THE  PACIFIC  TRAIL.  145 

then  you  have  a  state  of  things  which  will  support 
several  stores,  and  a  whole  catalogue  of  trades.  It 
is  a  state  of  affairs  which  corresponds  with  every 
new  settlement  in  the  West ;  or,  indeed,  which  faintly 
compares  with  the  demand  for  everything  merchant 
able,  peculiar  in  such  places.  Then  again,  besides 
the  actual  residents  in  a  new  place,  who  have  money 
enough  in  their  pockets,  but  nothing  in  their  cellars, 
there  is  generally  a  large  population  in  'the  back 
country  of  farmers  and  no  stores.  Such  people 
come  to  a  place  like  this  to  trade,  for  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles  back,  perhaps ;  and  it  being  a  county 
seat  they  have  other  objects  to  bring  them.  At  the 
same  time  there  is  an  almost  constant  flow  of  set 
tlers  through  the  place  into  the  unoccupied  country 
to  find  preemption  claims,  who,  of  course,  wish  to 
take  supplies  with  them.  The  settler  takes  a  day, 
perhaps,  for  his  visit  in  town  to  trade.  Time  is 
precious  with  him,  and  he  cannot  come  often.  So 
he  buys,  perhaps,  fifty  or  a  hundred  dollars  worth 
of  goods.  These  are  circumstances  which  account 
for  activity  of  business  in  these  river  towns,  and 
which,  though  they  are  strikingly  apparent  here, 
are  not  peculiar  to  this  town.  At  first,  I  confess, 
it  was  a  mystery  to  me  what  could  produce  such 
startling  and  profitable  trade  in  these  new  towns. 

It  was   in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  St.  Cloud 
that  Gov.  Stevens  left  the  Mississippi  on  his  explo 
ration,  in  1853,  of  a  railroad  route  to  the  Pacific. 
Several  crossings  of  the  river  had  been  previously 
13 


146  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

examined,  and  it  was  found  that  one  of  the  favor 
able  points  for  a  railroad  bridge  over  it  was  here. 
I  might  here  say  that  the  country  directly  west  lies 
in  the  valley  of  Sauk  River,  and  from  my  own  ob 
servation  I  know  it  to  be  a  good  farming  country ; 
and  I  believe  the  land  is  taken  up  by  settlers  as  far 
back  as  twelve  miles.  It  is  a  little  upwards  of  a 
hundred  miles  in  a  westerly  direction  from  St.  Cloud 
to  where  fate  expedition  first  touched  the  Bois  des 
Sioux  (or  Sioux  Wood  River).  Gov.  Stevens  says 
in  his  report — "  The  plateau  of  the  Bois  des  Sioux 
will  be  a  great  centre  of  population  and  communi 
cation.  It  connects  with  the  valley  of  the  Red 
River  of  the  North,  navigable  four  hundred  miles 
for  steamers  of  three  or  four  feet  draught,  with 
forty-five  thousand  square  miles  of  arable  and  tim 
ber  land  ;  and  with  tne  valley  of  the  Minnesota,  also 
navigable  at  all  seasons  when  not  obstructed  by  ice, 
one  hundred  miles  for  steamers,  and  occasionally  a 
hundred  miles  further.  The  head  of  navigation  of 
the  Red  River  of  the  North  is  within  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles  of  the  navigable  portion  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  and  is  distant  only  forty  miles  from  the 
Minnesota.  Eastward  from  these  valleys  to  the 
great  lakes,  the  country  on  both  sides  of  the  Missis 
sippi  is  rich,  a,nd  much  of  it  heavily  timbered." 

I  will  also  add  another  remark  which  he  makes, 
inasmuch  as  the  character  of  the  country  in  this 
latitude,  as  far  as  the  Pacific  shore,  must  have  great 
influence  on  this  locality  ;  and  it  is  this :  "  Proba- 


ST.  CLOUD. — THE  PACIFIC  TRAIL.  147 

bly  four  thousand  square  miles  of  tillable  land  is  to 
be  found  immediately  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  (the 
Rocky  Mountains) ;  and  at  the  bottoms  of  the  differ 
ent  streams,  retaining  their  fertility  for  some  distance 
after  leaving  the  mountains,  will  considerably  in 
crease  this  amount."  Mr.  John  Lambert,  the  topo 
grapher  of  the  exploration,  divides  the  country  be 
tween  the  Mississippi  and  Columbia  rivers,  into 
three  grand  divisions.  The  first  includes  the  vast 
prairies  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  base  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  second  is  the  mountain 
division,  embracing  about  five  degrees  of  longitude. 
The  third  division  comprises  the  immense  plains  of 
the  Columbia. 

Of  the  first  division — from  here  to  the  foot  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains — let  me  quote  what  Mr.  Lambert 
in  his  official  report  calls  a  "  passing  glance." 
"  Undulating  and  level  prairies,  skirted  with  woods 
of  various  growth,  and  clothed  everywhere  with  a 
rich  verdure ;  frequent  and  rapid  streams,  with  in 
numerable  small  but  limpid  lakes,  frequented  by 
multitudes  of  waterfowl,  most  conspicuous  among 
which  appears  the  stately  swan ;  these,  in  ever- 
recurring  succession,  make  up  the  panorama  of  this 
extensive  district,  which  may  be  said  to  be  every 
where  fertile,  beautiful,  and  inviting.  The  most 
remarkable  features  of  this  region  are  the  intervals 
of  level  prairie,  especially  that  near  the  bend  of 
Red  River,  where  the  horizon  is  as  unbroken  as  that 
of  a  calm  sea.  Nor  are  other  points  of  resemblance 


143  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

wanting — the  long  grass,  which  in  such  places  is 
unusually  rank,  bonding  gracefully  to  the  passing 
breeze  as  it  sweeps  along  the  plain,  gives  the  idea 
of  waves  (as  indeed  they  are) ;  and  the  solitary 
horseman  on  the  horizon  is  so  indistinctly  seen  as 
to  complete  the  picture  by  the  suggestion  of  a  sail, 
raising  the  first  feeling  of  novelty  to  a  character  of 
wonder  and  delight.  The  following  outlines  of  the 
rolling  prairies  are  broken  only  by  the  small  lakes 
and  patches  of  timber  which  relieve  them  of  mono 
tony  and  enhance  their  beauty  ;  and  though  marshes 
and  sloughs  occur,  they  are  of  too  small  extent  and 
too  infrequent  to  affect  the  generally  attractive  cha 
racter  of  the  country.  The  elevation  of  the  rolling 
prairies  is  generally  so  uniform,  that  even  the  sum 
mits  between  streams  flowing  in  opposite  directions 
exhibit  no  peculiar  features  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  ordinary  character  of  the  valley  slopes." 

I  think  I  cannot  do  a  better  service  to  the  emi 
grant  or  settler  than  to  quote  a  part  of  the  report 
made  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Tinkham,  descriptive  of  his 
route  from  St.  Paul  to  Fort  Union.  His  explora 
tion,  under  Gov.  Stevens,  was  made  in  the  summer 
of  1853 ;  and  he  has  evidently  given  an  impartial 
account  of  the  country.  I  begin  with  it  where  he 
crosses  the  Mississippi  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Cloud. 
The  part  quoted  embraces  the  route  for  a  distance 
of  two  hundred  and  ninety-five  miles ;  the  first 
seventy  miles  of  which  was  due  west — the  rest  of 
the  route  being  a  little  north  of  west. 


ST.  CLOUD. — THE  PACIFIC  TRAIL.  149 

"  June  9.  Ferried  across  the  Mississippi  River, 
here  some  six  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet  wide — 
boating  the  camp  equipage,  provisions,  &c.,  and 
swimming  the  animals ;  through  rich  and  fertile 
prairies,  variegated  with  the  wooded  banks  of  Sauk 
River,  a  short  distance  on  the  left,  with  the  wooded 
hills  on  either  side,  the  clustered  growth  of  elm, 
poplar,  and  oak,  which  the  road  occasionally  touches ; 
following  the  'Red  River  trail,'  we  camp  at  Cold 
Spring  Brook,  with  clear,  cool  water,  good  grass, 
and  wood. 

"  June  10.  Cold  Spring  Brook  is  a  small  brook 
about  ten  feet  across,  flowing  through  a  miry  slough, 
which  is  very  soft  and  deep,  and  previous  to  the 
passage  of  the  wagons,  had,  for  about  two  hundred 
feet  distance,  been  bridged  in  advance  by  a  causeway 
of  round  or  split  logs  of  the  poplar  growth  near  by  ; 
between  this  and  the  crossing  of  Sauk  River  are 
two  other  bad  sloughs,  over  one  of  which  are  laid 
logs  of  poplar,  and  over  the  other  the  wagons  were 
hauled  by  hand,  after  first  removing  the  loads. 
Sauk  River  is  crossed  obliquely  with  a  length  of 
ford  some  three  hundred  feet — depth  of  water  four 
and  a-half  to  five  feet ;  goods  must  be  boated  or 
rafted  over,  the  river  woods  affording  the  means  of 
building  a  raft ;  camped  immediately  after  crossing ; 
wood,  water,  and  grass  good  and  abundant. 

"June  11.  Over  rolling  prairies,  without  wood 
on  the  trail,  although  generally  in  sight  on  the  right 
or  left,  with  occasional  small  ponds  and  several  bad 


150  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

sloughs,  across  which  the  wagons  were  hauled  over 
by  hand  to  Lake  Henry — a  handsome,  wooded 
lake;  good  wood  and  grass;  water  from  small 
pond ;  not  very  good. 

61  June  13.  Passing  over  rolling  prairies  to  a 
branch  of  Crow  River,  the  channel  of  which  is  only 
some  twenty  feet  wide  and  four  or  five  feet  deep ; 
but  the  water  makes  back  into  the  grass  one  hun 
dred  feet  or  more  from  the  channel  as  early  in  the 
season  as  when  crossed  by  the  train.  Goods  boated 
over ;  wagons  by  hand  and  with  ropes ;  no  wood  on 
the  stream ;  several  small  lakes,  not  wooded,  are  on 
either  side  of  the  trail,  with  many  ducks,  geese,  and 
plovers  on  them :  encamp  at  Lightning  Lake,  a 
small  and  pretty  lake,  sufficiently  well  wooded  on 
the  borders  for  camping  purposes;  good  water, 
wood,  and  grass,  and  abounding  with  fish. 

"June  18.  Over  rolling  prairie  with  small  pools 
and  marshes,  to  a  swift  running  stream  about  twenty 
feet  wide,  three  feet  deep,  a  branch  of  Chippewa 
River ;  heavily  rolling  ground  with  stony  knolls  and 
granite  boulders,  to  White  Bear  Lake,  a  large  hand 
some  lake,  writh  mingled  open  and  woodland. 

"  Broken  rolling  ground  to  camp,  a  mile  off  the 
Red  River  trail,  and  near  a  small  wooded  lake. 
Two  small  brooks  have  to  be  crossed  in  the  inter 
val,  and  being  somewhat  deep  and  with  abrupt 
sides,  are  troublesome  crossings. 

"  June  20.  Rolling  prairie  country,  with  small 
marshes  and  ponds  to  a  tributary  of  South  Branch. 


ST.  CLOUD. — THE  PACIFIC  TRAIL.  151 

Swift  running  stream,  gravelly  bottom,  fifteen  feet 
wide,  three  to  four  feet  deep ;  with  care  in  selection 
good  crossing  was  obtained  for  the  wagons ;  a 
wooded  lake  is  a  short  distance  to  the  right  of  trail. 

"  Small  rivulet,  whose  banks  are  marshy  and 
soft. 

"  Prairies,  with  small  marshes  and  ponds  to  a 
swift  running  brook,  six  feet  wide. 

"  Prairie  to  Pike  Lake  and  camp  of  St.  Grover ; 
a  handsome  lake  of  about  a  mile  in  diameter,  said 
to  abound  in  pike ;  well  wooded  on  its  south  bor 
der  ;  grass,  water,  and  wood,  for  camping,  abundant 
and  good. 

"  Rolling  prairie  with  knolls  ;  several  ponds  and 
marshes,  with  an  intervening  brook  about  six  feet 
wide,  and  rather  difficult  of  passage,  from  the  ab 
ruptness  of  its  banks,  to  a  small  brook,  the  outlet 
of  a  small  and  partially  wooded  lake  or  pond. 

"  Rolling  prairie,  with  grassy,  swelling  knolls, 
small  ponds  and  marshes,  to  Chippeway  River; 
camp  of  odometer  wagon  on  edge  of  river ;  water 
and  grass  good ;  no  wood. 

June  24.  Crossed  Chippeway  River,  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-four  feet  wide,  three  to  six  feet 
deep ;  goods  boated  over,  and  the  animals  swimming ; 
wagon  hauled  through  the  water  by  a  rope  attached 
to  the  tongue,  and  with  the  aid  of  the  mules ;  camped 
on  Elk  Lake,  a  small  and  pretty  lake,  well  wooded, 
and  with  luxuriant  grass ;  good  water. 

June  25.     Trail  passes  over  prairies  with  a  rich 


152  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH 

heavy  grass  (this  is  a  hundred  miles  west  of  the 
Mississippi  River),  about  eighteen  inches  high, 
winding  between  wooded  lakes  to  a  heavy  ravine, 
with  a  small  and  sluggish  rivulet  in  its  bottom ; 
sides  steep,  and  laborious  for  the  wagon  train. 

"  Prairie  sloping  towards  the  western  branch  of  the 
Chippeway  River  ;  a  stream  when  crossed,  about  one 
hundred  and  forty  feet  wide,  three  or  four  feet  deep, 
with  a  marked  current  and  firm  bottom;  no  wood. 

"  Camp  on  a  small  lake,  fairly  wooded,  with 
luxuriant  grass,  and  good  water. 

"  June  27.  Undulating  prairie,  rich  soil,  covered 
with  a  heavy  growth  of  grass,  with  small  ponds  and 
marshes ;  woods  continue  in  sight  a  short  distance 
on  the  left  of  Elbow  Lake,  a  well  wooded  lake,  of 
form  indicated  by  its  name. 

"  Rolling  prairie,  with  two  bad  sloughs,  to  Rabbit 
River,  which  is  crossed  with  the  wagon  with  but  little 
difficulty,  where  it  issues  from  a  small  lake.  It  is  a 
small  stream,  but  spreads  out  from  one  hundred  to 
three  hundred  feet,  with  marshy  borders  ;  camp  on 
the  small  lake,  with  good  grass,  wood,  and  water. 

"June  28.  Rolling  ground,  with  small  ponds 
and  marshes,  to  a  small  brook  twelve  feet  wide  ;  the 
Bois  des  Sioux  prairie,  a  smooth,  flat  prairie,  with 
out  knoll  or  undulation — an  immense  plain,  appa 
rently  level,  covered  with  a  tall,  coarse,  dark-colored 
grass,  and  unrelieved  with  the  sight  of  a  tree  or 
shrub  ;  firm  bottom,  but  undoubtedly  wet  in  spring ; 
small  brook,  when  the  train  made  a  noon  halt. 


ST.  CLOUD. — THE  PACIFIC  TRAIL.  153 

"  Same  smooth  prairie  as  above  to  Bois  des  Sioux 
River,  sometimes  soft  and  miry;  camp  on  river  bank ; 
wood  and  grass  good — river  water  fair ;  many  cat 
fish  caught  in  the  river. 

"  June  29.  Cross  Bois  des  Sioux  River  ;  seventy 
feet  wide,  four  to  seven  feet  deep  ;  muddy  bottom  ; 
steep  and  miry  banks  ;  goods  boated  over ;  wagons 
hauled  through,  light,  with  ropes ;  bad  crossing,  but 
passable ;  smooth  flat  prairie,  as  on  the  east  side  of 
Bois  des  Sioux,  occasionally  interrupted  with  open 
sloughs  to  Wild  Rice  River,  and  camp  with  wood, 
water,  and  abundant  grass. 

"June  30.  Wild  Rice  River,  about  forty  feet 
wide  and  five  and  a  half  feet  deep,  with  muddy  and 
miry  bottom  and  sides,  flowing  in  a  canal-like  chan-^ 
nel,  some  twenty  feet  below  prairie  level;  river  skirt 
ed  with  elm — bridged  from  the  steep  banks,  being 
too  miry  to  sustain  the  animals,  detaining  the  train 
but  little  more  than  half-a-day ;  small  brook  with 
out  wood,  flowing  in  a  broad  channel  cut  out  through 
the  prairie ;  crossing  miry,  but  made  passable  for 
the  wagon  by  strewing  the  bottom  with  mown  grass. 

"  Firm  prairie  to  camp  on  edge  of  above  small 
stream  ;  good  grass  and  water  ;  no  wood  ;  elk  killed 
by  hunter. 

"  July  1.  Smooth  prairie  extending  to  Shayenne 
River  ;  sand  knolls,  ponds,  and  marshes  frequent 
as  the  river  is  approached.  The  marshes  were  not 
miry — firmer  bottom ;  good  wagon  road ;  night  en 
campment  on  bank  of  river  ;  sufficient  grass  for 


154  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

train ;  wood  abundant ;  river  water  good  ;  many 
catfish  caught  in  river. 

"  July  2.  Shayenne  River,  sixty  feet  wide,  four 
teen  feet  deep;  river  had  been  previously  bridged 
by  Red  River  train,  from  the  poplars  and  other  trees 
growing  on  the  river,  and  this  bridge  we  made  use 
of  in  crossing  our  wagons ;  camp  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  jiver ;  water,  wood,  and  grass  good. 

"  July  4.  Prairie  undulation,  interrupted'  with 
marshes,  small  ponds  and  occasional  small  rivulets, 
to  Maple  River,  about  twenty-five  feet  wide,  three 
and  a  half  feet  deep,  firm  bottom,  and  easily  passed 
by  the  wagons ;  river  tolerably  well  wooded,  and 
the  camp  on  its  edge  is  furnished  with  water,  wood, 
and  good  grass.  The  rich  black  soil  of  the  valley 
of  this  stream  is  noticeable. 

"  July  5.  To  a  small  stream  thirty  feet  wide,  two 
feet  deep,  clayey  bottom,  easily  crossed  by  the 
wagons  ;  prairie  high,  firm,  and  almost  level  for  some 
thirteen  miles,  becoming  more  rolling  and  with  small 
ponds  in  the  last  seven  miles  of  the  march  ;  on  the  edge 
of  some  of  the  ponds  are  salt  incrustations ;  camp 
on  the  river ;  water  good ;  grass  good  ;  no  wood , 
and  the  bois  de  vache  is  used  for  fuel. 

"  July  6.  Country  wet  and  marshy  ;  not  a  tree 
in  sight ;  prairie  with  low  ridges  and  knolls,  and 
great  number  of  ponds  and  marshes ;  night's  camp 
by  a  small  pond ;  no  wood,  but  plenty  of  bois  dc 
vache ;  grass  good. 

"  July  7*.    Approaching  the  Shayenne  ;  country  as 


ST.  CLOUD. — THK   PACIFIC  TRAIL.  1  ;">;"> 

yesterday  for  some  half  dozen  miles ;  bordering  on  the 
river  the  ground  is  broken  with  deep  coulees  and  rav 
ines,  and  to  keep  away  from  them  the  train  kept  at 
some  distance -from  the  river,  encamping  by  a  small 
marshy  pond ;  no  wood ;  plenty  of  bois  de  vache ;  grass 
good  ;  water  tolerable  ;  first  buffalo  killed  to-day. 

"July  8.  Prairie  swelling  with  ridges  ;  descend 
to  the  Shayenne,  which  flows  some  one  hundred  and 
fifty  to  two  hundred  feet  below  the  prairie  by  a  steep 
hill ;  camp  in  the  bottom  of  the  river ;  wood  and  water 
good ;  grass  rather  poor ;  the  bottom  of  the  Shay 
enne,  some  half  a  mile  wide,  is  often  soft  and  miry, 
but  when  crossed  by  the  train  firm  and  dry. 

"  July  9.  Cross  the  Shayenne,  fifty  feet  wide, 
three  and  a  half  feet  deep ;  immediate  banks  some 
ten  feet  high,  and  requiring  some  digging  to  give 
passage  to  the  wagons. 

"  Prairie  with  swelling  ridges  and  occasional 
marshes  to  camp,  to  a  slough  affording  water  and 
grass  ;  no  wood  ;  buffalo  very  abundant. 

"  July  10.  Prairie  swelling  into  ridges  and  hills, 
with  a  frequency  of  marshes,  ponds,  and  sloughs; 
camp  at  a  pretty  lake,  near  Lake  Jessie  ;  fairly 
wooded,  with  water  slightly  saline  ;  grass  scanty, 
having  been  consumed  by  the  buffalo.  Prairies 
covered  with  buffalo." 

I  take  this  valuable  sketch  of  the  natural  features 
of  the  country  from  volume  1  of  Explorations  and 
Surveys  for  the  Pacific  Railroad  (page  353-356) ;  for 
which  I  am  indebted  to  the  learned  Secretary  of  War. 


LETTER  XV. 

ST.  CLOUD  TO  ST.  PAUL. 

Importance  of  starting  early — Judge  Story's  theory  of  early  rising — 
Rustic  scenery — Horses  and  inules — Surveyors — Humboldt — Baked 
fish — Getting  off  the  track — Burning  of  hay  stacks — Supper  at  St. 
Anthony — Arrival  at  the  Fuller  House. 

ST.  PAUL,  October,  1856. 

I  WAS  up  by  the  gray  dawn  of  the  morning  of 
yesterday,  and  after  an  early  but  excellent  break 
fast,  crossed  the  river  from  St.  Cloud,  in  order  to 
meet  the  stage  at  Sauk  Rapids.  As  we  came  up  on 
the  main  road,  the  sight  of  a  freshly  made  rut,  of 
stage-wheel  size,  caused  rather  a  disquieting  appre 
hension  that  the  stage  had  passed.  But  my  nerves 
were  soon  quieted  by  the  assurance  from  an  early 
hunter,  who  was  near  by  shooting  prairie  chickens 
while  they  were  yet  on  the  roost,  that  the  stage  had 
not  yet  come.  So  we  kept  on  to  the  spacious  store 
where  the  post  office  is  kept,  where  I  waited  and 
waited  for  the  stage  to  come  which  was  to  bring  me 
to  St.  Paul.  It  did  not  arrive  till  eight  o'clock.  I 
thought  if  every  one  who  had  a  part  to  perform  in 
starting  off  the  stage  from  Watab  (for  it  had  started 
out  from  there  that  morning),  was  obliged  to  make 
the  entire  journey  of  80  miles  to  St.  Paul  in  the 

(156) 


ST.  CLOUD  TO  ST.    PAUL.  157 

stage,  they  would  prefer  to  get  up  a  little  earlier 
rather  than  have  the  last  part  of  the  trip  extended 
into  "the  dead  waist  and  middle  of  the  night."  I 
remarked  to  the  driver,  who  is  a  very  clever  young 
man,  that  the  stage  which  left  St.  Paul  started  as 
early  as  -five  o'clock,  and  I  could  not  see  why  it  was 
not  as  necessary  to  start  as  early  in  going  down, 
inasmuch  as  the  earlier  we  started  the  less  of  the 
night  darkness  we  had  to  travel  in.  He  perfectly 
agreed  with  me,  and  attributed  his  inability  to  start 
earlier  to  the  dilatory  arrangements  at  the  hotel. 
When  jogging  along  at  about  eleven  at  night  be 
tween  St.  Anthony  and  the  city,  I  could  not  help 
begrudging  every  minute  of  fair  daylight  which  had 
been  wasted.  The  theory  of  Judge  Story,  that  it 
don't  make  much  difference  when  a  man  gets  up  in 
the  morning,  provided  he  is  wide  awake  after  he  is 
up,  will  do  very  well,  perhaps,  except  when  one  is 
to  start  on  a  journey  in  the  stage. 

I  took  a  seat  by  the  driver's  side,  the  weather 
being  clear  and  mild,  and  had  an  unobstructed  and 
delightful  view  of  every  object,  and  there  seemed  to 
be  none  but  pleasant  objects  in  range  of  the  great 
highway.  Though  there  is,  between  every  village, 
population  enough  to  remind  one  constantly  that  he 
is  in  a  settled  country,  the  broad  extent  yet  unoccu 
pied  proclaims  that  there  is  still  room  enough. 
Below  Sank  Rapids  a  good  deal  of  the  land  on  the 
road  side  is  in  the  hands  of 'speculators.  This,  it  is 
understood,  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi. 


158  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

On  the  west  side  there  are  more  settlements.  But 
yet  there  are  many  farms,  with  tidy  white  cottages  ; 
and  in  some  places  are  to  be  seen  well-arranged 
flower-gardens.  The  most  attractive  scenery  to  me, 
however,  was  the  ample  corn-fields,  which,  set  in  a 
groundwork  of  interminable  virgin  soil,  are  pictures 
which  best  reflect  the  true  destiny  and  usefulness 
of  an  agricultural  region.  We  met  numerous  teams 
heavily  laden  with  furniture  or  provisions,  destined 
for  the  different  settlements  above.  The  teams  are 
principally  drawn  by  two  horses  ;  and,  as  the  road 
is  extremely  level  and  smooth,  are  capable  of  taking 
on  as  much  freight  as  under  other  circumstances 
could  be  drawn  by  four  horses.  Mules  do  not  ap 
pear  to  be  appreciated  up  this  way  so  much  as  in 
Missouri  or  Kentucky.  Nor  was  it  unusual  to  meet 
light  carriages  with  a  gentleman  and  lady,  who, 
from  the  luggage,  &c.,  aboard,  appeared  to  have 
been  on  somewhat  of  an  extensive  shopping  expedi 
tion.  And  I  might  as  well  say  here,  if  I  havn't 
yet  said  it,  that  the  Minnesotians  are  supplied  with 
uncommonly  good  horses.  I  do  not  remember  to 
have  seen  a  mean  horse  in  the  territory.  I  suppose, 
as  considerable  pains  are  taken  in  raising  stock, 
poor  horses  are  not  raised  at  all ;  and  it  will  not 
pay  to  import  poor  ones.  A  company  of  surveyors 
whom  we  met  excited  a  curiosity  which  I  was  not 
able  to  solve.  It  looked  odd  enough  to  see  a  dozen 
men  walking  by  the  side  or  behind  a  small  one-horse 
cart;  the  latter  containing  some  sort  of  baggage 


ST.  CLOUD  TO  ST.  PAUL.  159 

which  was  covered  over,  as  it  appeared,  with  camp 
ing  fixtures.  It  was  more  questionable  whether  the 
team  belonged  to  the  men  than  that  the  men  were 
connected  with  the  team.  The  men  were  mostly 
young  and  very  intelligent-looking,  dressed  with 
woollen  shirts  as  if  for  out  door  service,  and  I  almost 
guessed  they  were  surveyors ;  yet  still  thought  they 
were  a  party  of  new-comers  who  had  concluded  to 
club  together  to  make  their  preemption  claim.  But 
surveyors  they  were. 

The  town  of  Humboldt  is  the  county  seat  for 
Sherburne  county.  It  lies  between  the  Mississippi 
and  Snake  rivers.  The  part  of  the  town  which  I 
saw  was  a  very  small  part.  Mr.  Brown's  residence, 
which  is  delightfully  situated  on  the  shore  of  a  lake, 
is  at  once  the  court  house  and  the  post  office,  besides 
being  the  general  emporium  and  magnate  of  Hum 
boldt  business  and  society.  Furthermore,  it  is  the 
place  where  the  stage  changes  horses  and  where 
passengers  on  the  down  trip  stop  to  dine.  It  was 
here  we  stopped  to  dine ;  and  as  the  place  had  been 
a  good  deal  applauded  for  its  table-d'hote,  a  stand 
ard  element  of  which  was  said  to  be  baked  fish, 
right  out  of  the  big  lake,  I  at  least  had  formed  very 
luxurious  expectations.  Mr.  Brown  was  away.  We 
had  met  his  lively  countenance  on  his  way  up  to  a 
democratic  caucus.  Perhaps  that  accounted  for  our 
not  having  baked  fish,  for  fish  we  certainly  did  not 
have.  The  dinner  was  substantial,  however,  and 
yielded  to  appetites  which  had  been  sharpened  by  a 


1GO  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

half  day's  inhalation  of  serene  October  air.  We 
had  all  become  infused  with  a  spirit  of  despatch ; 
and  were  all  ready  to  start,  and  did  start,  in  half  an 
hour  from  the  time  we  arrived  at  the  house. 

We  had  not  proceeded  far  after  dinner  before 
meeting  the  Monticello  stage,  which  runs  between 
the  thriving  village  of  that  name — on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Mississippi — and  St.  Paul.  It  carries  a  daily 
mail.  There  were  several  passengers  aboard. 

One  little  incident  in  our  afternoon  travel  I  will 
mention,  as  it  appeared  to  afford  more  pleasure  to 
the  rest  of  the  passengers  than  it  did  to  me.  Where 
the  stage  was  to  stop  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes, 
either  to  change  mail  or  horses,  I  had  invariably 
walked  on  a  mile,  if  I  could  get  as  far,  for  the  sake 
of  variety  and  exercise.  So  when  we  came  to  the 
pretty  village  of  Anoka  (at  the  mouth  of  Rum  River), 
where  the  mail  was  to  be  changed,  I  started  on  foot 
and  alone.  But  unfortunately  and  unconsciously  I 
took  the  wrong  road.  I  had  walked  a  mile  I  think 
— for  twenty  minutes  at  least  had  expired  since  I 
started — and  being  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  in 
the  midst  of  farms  and  gardens,  turned  up  to  a  gar 
den-fence,  on  the  other  side  of  which  a  gentleman  of 
professional — I  rather  thought  clerical  appearance 
— was  feeding  a  cow  on  pumpkins.  I  had  not  seen 
pumpkins  so  abundant  since  my  earliest  youth,  when 
I  used  to  do  a  similar  thing.  I  rather  thought  too 
that  the  gentleman  whom  I  accosted  was  a  Yankee, 


ST.  CLOUD  TO  ST.  PAUL.  161 

and  after  talking  a  few  minutes  with  him,  so  much 
did  he  exceed  me  in  asking  questions,  that  I  felt 
sure  he  was  one.  How  thankful  I  ought  to  be  that 
he  was  one !  for  otherwise  it  is  probable  he  would 
not  have  ascertained  where,  and  for  what  purpose, 
I  was  walking.  He  informed  me  I  was  on  the 
wrong  road ;  that  the  stage  took  a  road  further 
west,  which  was  out  of  sight ;  and  that  I  had  better 
go  on  a  little  further  and  then  cross  the  open  prai 
rie.  Then  for  the  first  time  did  I  notice  that  the 
road  I  had  taken  was  but  a  street,  not  half  so  much 
worn  as  the  main  road.  I  followed  his  friendly 
advice,  and  feeling  some  despair  I  hastened  on  at  a 
swift  run,  and  as  I  advanced  towards  where  I  thought 
the  right  road  ought  to  be,  though  I  could  neither 
see  it  nor  the  stage,  "  called  so  loud  that  all  the 
hollow  deep  of" — the  prairies  might  have  resounded. 
At  last,  when  quite  out  of  breath  and  hoarse  with 
loud  vociferation,  I  descried  the  stage  rolling  on  at 
a  rapid  rate.  Then  I  renewed  my  calls,  ami  brought 
it  up  standing.  After  clambering  over  a  few  fences, 
sweating  and  florid,  I  got  to  the  stage  and  resumed 
my  seat,  amidst  the  pleasant  merriment  of  the  pas 
sengers.  The  driver  was  kind  enough  to  say  that 
he  began  to  suspect  I  had  taken  the  wrong  road, 
and  was  about  to  turn  round  and  come  after  me — 
that  he  certainly  would  not  have  left  me  behind,  &c. 
I  was  happy,  nevertheless,  that  my  mistake  did  not 
retard  the  stage.  But  I  do  not  intend  to  abandon 
14* 


162  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

the  practice  of  walking  on  before  the  stage  when 
ever  it  stops  to  change  horses. 

Just  in  the  edge  of  twilight,  and  when  we  were  a 
little  way  this  side  of  Coon  Creek,  where  we  had 
changed  horses  again,  we  came  in  sight  of  a  large 
fire.'  It  was  too  much  in  one  spot  to  be  a  prairie 
fire ;  and  as  we  drove  on  the  sad  apprehension  that 
it  was  a  stack  of  hay  was  confirmed.  The  flames 
rose  up  in  wide  sheets,  and  cast  a  steady  glare  upon 
the  landscape.  It  was  a  gorgeous  yet  a  dismal 
sight.  It  always  seems  worse  to  see  grain  destroyed 
by  fire  than  ordinary  merchandise.  Several  stacks 
were  burning.  We  saw  that  the  usual  precaution 
against  prairie  fires  had  been  taken.  These  consist 
in  ploughing  several  furrows  around  the  stack,  or  by 
burning  the  grass  around  it  to  prevent  the  flames 
from  reaching  it.  It  was  therefore  suspected  that 
some  rascal  had  applied  the  torch  to  the  hay ;  though 
for  humanity's  sake  we  hoped  it  was  not  so.  The 
terrible  prairie  fires,  which  every  autumn  waste  the 
western  plains,  are  frequently  started  through  the 
gross  carelessness  of  people  who  camp  out,  and  leave 
their  fires  burning. 

Some  of  us  took  supper  at  St.  Anthony.  I  cannot 
say  much  of  the  hotel  de  facto.  The  table  was  not 
as  good  as  I  found  on  the  way  at  other  places  above. 
There  is  a  hotel  now  being  built  there  out  of  stone, 
which  I  am  confident  will  exceed  anything  in  the 
territory,  if  we  except  the  Fuller  House.  It  is  pos- 


ST.  CLOUD  TO  ST.  PAUL.  163 

sible  we  all  felt  invigorated  and  improved  by  the 
supper,  for  we  rode  the  rest  of  the  way  in  a  very 
crowded  stage  without  suffering  any  exhibition  of 
ill  temper  to  speak  of,  and  got  into  St.  Paul  at  last, 
when  it  was  not  far  from  eleven  ;  and  after  seventy- 
five  miles  of  staging,  the  luxurious  accommodations 
of  the  Fuller  House  seemed  more  inviting  than 
ever 


.      LETTER   XVI. 

PROGRESS. 

Rapid  growth  of  the  North-West — Projected  railroads — Territorial 
system  of  the  United  States — Inquiry  into  the  cause  of  Western 
progress — Influence  of  just  laws  and  institutions — Lord  Bacon's 
remark. 

ST.  PAUL,  October,  1856. 

THE  progress  which  has  characterized  the  settle 
ment  of  the  territory  of  Minnesota,  presents  to  the 
notice  of  the  student  of  history  and  political  econ 
omy  some  important  facts.  The  growth  of  a  fron 
tier  community,  so  orderly,  so  rapid,  and  having  so 
much  of  the  conservative  element  in  it,  has  rarely 
been  instanced  in  the  annals  of  the  world.  In  less 
time  than  it  takes  the  government  to  build  a  custom 
house  we  see  an  unsettled  territory  grown  to  the 
size  of  a  respectable  state,  in  wealth,  in  population, 
in  power.  A  territory,  too,  which  ten  years  ago 
seemed  to  be  an  incredible  distance  from  the  civ 
ilized  portions  of  the  country ;  and  which  was 
thought  by  most  people  to  be  in  a  latitude  that 
would  defeat  the  energy  and  the  toil  of  man.  To 
day  it  could  bring  into  the  field  a  larger  army  than 
Washington  took  command  of  at  the  beginning  of 
our  revolution ! 

(164) 


PROGRESS.  165 

In  1849,  the  year  of  its  organization,  the  popula 
tion  of  the  territory  was  4780 ;  now  it  is  estimated 
to  be  nearly  200,000.  In  1852  there  were  42  post 
offices  in  the  territory,  now  there  are  253.  The 
number  of  acres  of  public  land  sold  during  the  fis 
cal  year  ending  30th  June,  1852,  was  15,258. 
For  the  year  ending  30th  June,  1856,  the  number 
of  acres  sold  was  1,002,130. 

When  we  contemplate  the  headlong  progress  of 
Western  growth  in  its  innumerable  evidences  of 
energy,  we  admit  the  truth  of  what  the  Roman  poet 
said — nil  mortalibus  ardum  est — that  there  is  nothing 
too  difficult  for  man.  In  the  narrative  of  his  explora 
tion  to  the  Mississippi  in  1820,  along  with  General 
Cass,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  tells  us  how  Chicago  then 
appeared.  "  We  found,"  says  he,  "four  or  five 
families  living  here."  Four  or  five  families  was 
the  extent  of  the  population  of  Chicago  in  1820  ! 
In  1836  it  had  4853  inhabitants.  In  1855  its  popu 
lation  was  85,000.  The  history  of  many  western 
towns  that  have  sprung  up  within  ten  years  is  cha 
racterized  by  much  the  same  sort  of  thrift.  Unless 
some  terrible  scourge  shall  come  to  desolate  the 
land,  or  unless  industry  herself  shall  turn  to  sloth, 
a  few  more  years  will  present  the  magnificent  spec 
tacle  of  the  entire  domain  stretching  from  this 
frontier  to  the  Pacific  coast,  transformed  into  a 
region  of  culture,  "  full  of  life  and  splendor  and 

j°y-" 

At  present  there  are  no  railroads  in  operation  in 


106  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

Minnesota;  but  those  which  are  already  projected 
indicate,  as  well  as  any  statistics,  the  progress  which 
is  taking  place.  The  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  and  Fond- 
du-Lac  Railroad  was  commenced  some  two  years 
ago  at  Chicago,  and  over  100  miles  of  it  are  com 
pleted.  It  is  to  run  via  Hudson  in  Wisconsin,  Still- 
water,  St.  Paul,  and  St.  Anthony  in  Minnesota  to 
the  western  boundary  of  the  territory.  Recently 
it  has  united  with  the  Milwaukee  and  La  Cross  Road, 
which  secures  several  millions  of  acres  of  valuable 
land,  donated  by  congress,  and  which  will  enable  the 
stockholders  to  complete  the  road  to  St.  Paul  and 
St.  Anthony 'within  two  years.  A  road  has  been 
surveyed  from  the  head  of  Lake  Superior  via  St. 
Paul  to  the  southern  line  of  the  territory,  and  will 
soon  be  worked.  The  Milwaukee  and  Mississippi 
Railroad  Company  will  in  a  few  weeks  have  their 
road  completed  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  are  extend 
ing  it  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Paul. 
Another  road  is  being  built  up  the  valley  of  the 
Red  Cedar  River  in  Iowa  to  Minneapolis.  The 
Keokuck  road  is  in  operation  over  fifty  miles,  and 
will  soon  be  under  contract  to  St.  Paul.  This  road 
is  to  run  via  the  valley  of  the  Des  Moines  River, 
through  the  rich  coal  fields  of  Iowa,  and  will  supply 
the  upper  Mississippi  and  Lake  Superior  region 
with  coal. 

The  Green  Bay  and  Minnesota  Railroad  Company 
has  been  organized  and  the  route  selected.  This 
road  will  soon  be  commenced.  The  active  men 


PROGRESS.  167 

engaged  in  the  enterprise  reside  in  Green  Bay  and 
Stillwater.  A  company  has  been  formed  and  will 
soon  commence  a  road  from  Winona  to  the  western 
line  of  the  territory.  The  St.  Anthony  and  St. 
Paul  Railroad  Company  will  have  their  line  under 
contract  early  the  coming  season.  The  Milwaukee 
and  La  Cross  Company  propose  continuing  their 
road  west  through  the  valley  of  Root  River, 
through  Minnesota  to  the  Missouri  River.  Another 
company  has  been  formed  for  building  a  road  from 
the  head  of  Lake  Superior  to  the  Red  River  of  the 
North.1  Such  are  some  of  the  railroad  enterprises 
which  are  under  way,  and  which  will  contribute  at 
an  early  day  to  develop  the  opulent  resources  of  the 
territory.  A  railroad  through  this  part  of  the 
country  to  the  Pacific  is  among  the  probable  events 
of  the  present  generation. 

1  The  following  highly  instructive  article  on  navigation,  I  tako 
from  The  Pioneer  and  Democrat  (St.  Paul),  of  the  20th  November  : 

"GROWTH  OF  THE  STEAMBOATING  BUSINESS — THE  SEASON  OF  1856. 
— About  ten  years  after  the  first  successful  attempt  at  steamboat  navi 
gation  on  the  Ohio  River,  the  first  steamboat  that  ever  ascended  tho 
Upper  Mi?.-L>.-ippi  River  to  Fort  Snelling,  arrived  at  that  post.  This 
was  the  'Virginia,'  a  stern-wheel  boat,  which  arrived  at  the  Fort  in 
the  early  part  of  May,  1823.  From  1823  to  1844  there  were  but  few 
arrivals  each  year — sometimes  not  more  than  two  or  three.  The 
steamers  running  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  at  that  time,  were  used 
altogether  to  transport  supplies  for  the  Indian  traders  and  the  troops 
stationed  at  Fort  Swelling.  Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  Virginia, 
keel  boats  were  used  for  this  purpose,  and  sixty  days'  time,  from  St. 
Louis  to  the  Fort,  was  considered  a  good  trip. 

"By  a  reference  to  our  files,  we  are  enabled  to  present,  at  a  glance, 
the  astonishing  increase  in  steamboating  business  since  1844.  Tho 
first  boat  to  arrive  that  year,  was  the  Otter,  commanded  by  Captain 


MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

It  may  be  well  to  pause  here  a  moment  and  in 
quire  into  the  causes  which  contribute  so  wonderfully 
to  build  up  empire  in  our  north-western  domain. 

Harris.     The  following  table  presents  the  number  of  arrivals  since 
that  time : — 


Year.                   First  Boat. 
1844                        April  6 

No.  of  Arrivals. 
41 

River  Closed. 
Nov  23 

1815                        April  6 

48 

Nov  26 

1848    .    .    .         March  31 

24    ,    

.     .     Dec.  5 

1847                        April  7 

47 

No     29 

1848    .     .     .         April  7     . 

63    

1849    .     .    .         April  9     . 

.    .    .    ,    .      85    

.    .    De     7 

1S.->0                        April  9 

104 

De     4 

1.8")l                        April  4 

119 

No     28 

18/52     .     .     .     .     April  16    . 
1853    :     .     .     .     April  11    . 
1854    ....    AprilS     . 
1855    ....    April  17   . 

171    .    •    
200    
245    

560 

.    .    No     18 
.    .    No     30 
.    .    No     27 

No     '?0 

1856    ....    April  18   . 

837    

.    .    No     10 

"In  1851,  three  boats  went  up  the  Minnesota  River,  and  in  1852, 
one  boat  ran  regularly  up  that  stream  during  the  season.  In  1853, 
the  business  required  an  average  of  one  boat  per  day.  In  1854,  the 
business  had  largely  increased,  and  in  1855,  the  arrivals  of  steamers 
from  the  Minnesota,  amounted  to  119. 

"  The  present  season,  on  the  Mississippi,  has  been  a  very  prosperous 
one,  and  the  arrivals  at  St.  Paul  exhibit  a  gratifying  increase  over 
any  preceding  year,  notwithstanding  the  season  of  navigation  has 
been  two  weeks  shorter  than  last  season.  Owing  to  the  unusually 
early  gorge  in  the  river  at  Hastings,  upwards  of  fifty  steamers  bound 
for  this  port,  and  heavily  laden  with  merchandise  and  produce,  were 
compelled  to  discharge  their  cargoes  at  Hastings  and  Stillwater. 

''Navigation  this  season  opened  on  the  18th  of  April.  The  Lady 
Franklin  arrived  on  the  evening  of  that  day  from  Galena.  Previous 
to  her  arrival,  there  had  been  eighteen  arrivals  at  our  landing  from 
the  head  of  Lake  Pepin,  and  twelve  arrivals  at  the  foot  of  the  lake, 
from  Galena  and  Dubuque. 

"During  the  present  season,  seventy-eight  different  steamers  havo 
arrived  at  our  wharf,  from  the  points  mentioned  in  the  following 
table.  This  table  we  draw  mainly  from  the  books  of  the  City  Mar 
shal,  and  by  reference  to  our  files. 

FROM  ST.  LOUIS. 

Boats.  No.  of  Trips.        Boats.  No.  of  Trips.  Boats.  No.  of  Trips. 

Ben  Coursin    ....    19    Audnbon 5  Lnella .8 

A.  G.  Mason    ....      8    Golden  State    ....      8  Cheviot        1 

Metropolitan   ....     13    Laclede        11  James  Lyon     ....    7 


PROGRESS. 


169 


The  territorial  system  of  the  United  States  has 
some  analogy,  it  is  true,  to  the  colonial  system  of 
Great  Britain — not  the  colonial  system  which  ex- 


Boats.           No.  of  Trips. 

Boats.             No.  of  Trips.        Boats             No  of  Trips. 

Vienna      .     .     . 

...    5 

Gi'usey      2    Fairy  Queen    ....      1 

New  York     .     . 

...  -1 

W.'  G.  Woodside    .              1     Saint  Louis      .              .      1 

Delegate        .     . 

...    1 

York  State        .    . 

5    Americus     .    . 

.     2 

Mansfield      .     . 

...    7 

Mattie  Wayne 

4    Atlanta        .    . 

.      1 

Forest  Rose 

...    1 

Brazil       .... 

4    Jacob  Traber 

.     6 

Ben  Bolt        .     . 

...    2 

Dan  Convers     .    . 

1     White  Bluffs    . 

.      1 

.1.  P.  Tweed      . 

...    1 

Henrietta      .    .    . 

4    Arcola      .     .    . 

.      8 

Fire  Canoe 

...    2 

Editor            .     .     . 

5    Conewago    .     . 

.    10 

Carrier      .     .     . 

.    .    1 

Minnesota  Belle    . 

8    Lueie  May 

.     8 

Julia  Dean 

1 

2    Badger  State 

5 

Resolute        .    . 

'.'.'.    2 

Oakland        .     .     . 

7    Sam  Young 

.      4 

Gossamer      .    . 

...    4 

Grace  Darling 

4    Violet      .    .    . 

.      1 

Thomas  Scott    . 

...    6 

Montauk       .     .     . 

3                                            

Total  arrivals  from  St.  Louis,                             212 

FROM  FULTON  CITY. 

Falls  City   .     . 
Diamond     .    • 

.    .    .    11 
.    .    .      1 

II.  T.  Yeatman        .    .    11    Time  and  Tide    ...      5 

Total  from  Fulton  City,                             28 

FROM  GALENA  AND  DUNLEITH. 

Lady  Franklin 

.    .    .    23 

Northern  Belle    ...    28    Golden  Era     ....    29 

Galena    .    .    . 

.    .    .    30 

Banjo      1     Ocean  Wave    ....    28 

Alhambra 

.    .    .    21 

War  Eagle       ....    17    Granite  State       ...     12 

Roj-al  Arch 

.    .    .      6 

City  Belle        ....    30    Greek  Slave         ...      3 

Excelsior 
Kate  Cassel 
Clarion 


II.  T.  Yeatman 
Globe  .  .  . 
Clarion  .  . 

Reveille       .     . 


Total  from  Galena  and  Dunleith, 

FROM  DUBUQUE. 

23    Tishimingo      ....      3    Flora      . 
29    Fanny  Harris      ...    28    Hamburg 

Total  from  Dubuque, 


FROM  MINNESOTA  RIVER. 


10  Equator       .     .     . 

11  Minnesota  Valley 
29    Berlin     .    .     .    '. 


4    II.  S.  Allen      .. 
34    Time  and  Tide    . 
12    Wave 
40 

Total  from  Minnesota  River, 

RECAPITULATION. 


Number  of  arrivals  from  St.  Louis 

"         "        "  "     Fulton  City 

"         "        "            "  Galena  and  Dunleith 

"         "         "  "     Dubuqne     

"         "        "  "     Minnesota  River 

"         "        "  "     head  of  Lake  Pepin 

Whole  number  of  boats,  78.                      Whole  number  of  arrivals, 


212 

28 
22S 
135 
216 

18 

"837 


"  It  will  be  seen  from  the  above,  that  ten  more  steamers  have  been 
engaged  in  this  trade  during  the  present  year  than  last;  while  in  the 
15 


170  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTA H. 

isted  in  the  days  of  the  stamp  act — but  that  which 
a  wiser  statesmanship  has  more  recently  inaugu 
rated.  The  relation  between  the  general  govern 
ment  and  our  territories  is  like  that  of  guardian  and 
ward — the  relation  of  a  protector,  not  that  of  a 
master.  Nor  can  we  find  in  the  history  of  anti 
quity  any  such  relationship  between  colonies  and  the 
mother  country,  whether  we  consider  the  system  of 
Phoenicia,  where  first  was  exhibited  the  doctrine  of 
non-intervention,  or  the  tribute-paying  colonies  of 
Carthage.  That  system  which  was  peculiar  to 
Greece,  "  resting  not  on  state  contrivances  and 
economical  theories,  but  on  religious  sympathies 
and  ancestral  associations,"  came  as  near  perhaps 
in  spirit  to  ours  as  any  on  record.  The  patronage 
which  the  government  bestows  on  new  territories  is 
one  of  the  sources  of  their  growth  which  ought  not  to 
be  overlooked.  Instead  of  making  the  territory  a 
dependency  and  drawing  from  it  a  tax,  the  govern 
ment  pays  its  political  expenses,  builds  its  roads, 
and  gives  it  a  fair  start  in  the  world. 

whole  number  of  arrivals  the  increase  has  been  two  hundred  and 
sixty-seven. 

"The  business  on  the  Minnesota  has  greatly  increased  this  year. 
This  was  to  have  been  expected,  considering  the  great  increase  in  the 
population  of  that  nourishing  portion  of  our  Territory. 

"A  thriving  trade  has  sprung  up  between  the  southern  counties 
of  Minnesota,  and  Galena  and  Dubuque.  During  the  greater  portion 
of  the  summer,  the  War  Eagle  and  Tishimingo  run  regularly  to 
Win  on  a. 

"  On  the  Upper  Mississippi  there  are  now  three  steamers,  the  Gov. 
Ramsay,  H.  M.  Rice,  and  North  Star  (new).  During  the  season  these 
boats  ran  between  St.  Anthony  and  Sauk  Rapids." 


PROGRESS.  171 

Another  cause  of  the  successful  growth  of  our 
territories  in  general,  and  of  Minnesota  in  particu 
lar,  is  the  ready  market  which  is  found  in  the  limits 
of  the  territory  for  everything  which  can  be  raised 
from  a  generous  soil  or  wrought  by  industrious  hands. 
The  farmer  has  a  ready  market  for  everything  that 
is  good  to  eat  or  to  wear;  the  artisan  is  driven  by 
unceasing  demands  upon  his  skill.  This  arises  from 
extensive  emigration.  Another  reason,  also,  for  the 
rapid  growth  of  the  territory,  is,  that  the  farmer  is 
not  delayed  by  forests,  but  finds,  outside  of  pleasant 
groves  of  woodland,  a  smooth,  unencumbered  soil, 
ready  for  the  plough  the  first  day  he  arrives. 

But  if  a  salubrious  climate,  a  fertile  soil,  clear 
and  copious  streams,  and  other  material  elements, 
can  be  reckoned  among  its  physical  resources,  there 
are  other  elements  of  empire  connected  with  its 
moral  and  political  welfare  which  are  indispensable. 
Why  is  it  that  Italy  is  not  great  ?  Why  is  it  the 
South  American  republics  are  rusting  into  abject 
decay  ?  Is  it  because  they  have  not  enough  physi 
cal  resources,  or  because  their  climate  is  not  healthy  ? 
Certainly  not.  It  is  because  their  political  institu 
tions  are  rotten  and  oppressive ;  because  ignorance 
prevents  the  growth  of  a  wholesome  public  opinion. 
It  is  the  want  of  the  right  sort  of  men  and  institu 
tions  that  there  is 

"Sloth  in  the  mart  and  schism  within  the  temple." 

"  Let  states  that  aim  at  greatness,"  says  Lord 


172  MIXNKSOTA  AND  DAOOTAII. 

Bacon,  u  take  heed  how  their  nobility  and  gentle 
men  do  multiply  too  fast ;  for  that  maketh  the  com 
mon  subject  to  be  a  peasant  and  base  swain,  driven 
out  of  heart,  and,  in  effect,  but  a  gentleman's  labo 
rer."  He  who  seeks  for  the  true  cause  of  the 
greatness  and  thrift  of  our  northwestern  states  will 
find  it  not  less  in  the  influence  of  just  laws  and  the 
education  of  all  classes  of  men,  than  in  the  exist 
ence  of  productive  fields  and  in  the  means  of  phy 
sical  wealth. 

"  What  constitutes  a  state  ? 
Not  high  raised  battlement,  or  labored  mound, 

Thick  wall,  or  moated  gate ; 
Not  cities  proud,  with  spires  and  turrets  crowned  ; 

Not  bays  and  broad  armed  ports, 
Where,  laughing  at  the  storm,  proud  navies  ride; 

But  men,  high  minded  men. 


PART   II. 
TERRITORY  OF  DACOTAH. 


"POPULOUS  CITIES  AND  STATES  ARE   SPRINGING    UP,  AS  IF   BY  ENCHANTMENT.  FROM 

THE  BOSOM  OF  OCR  WESTERN  WILDS." — The  President's  Annual  Message  for  1856. 


15*  (173) 


THE  PROPOSED  NEW  TERRITORY  OF 

DACOTAH. 


Organization  of  Minnesota  as  a  state — Suggestions  as  to  its  division — 
Views  of  Captain  Pope — Character  and  resources  of  the  new  terri 
tory  to  be  left  adjoining — Its  occupation  by  the  Dacotah  Indians — 
Its  organization  and  name. 

THE  territory  of  Minnesota  according  to  its  pre 
sent  boundaries  embraces  an  area  of  141,839  square 
miles  exclusive  of  water ; — a  domain  four  times  as 
large  as  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  twelve  times  as  large 
as  Holland,  when  her  commerce  was  unrivalled  and 
her  fleets  ruled  the  sea.  Its  limits  take  in  three  of 
the  largest  rivers  of  North  America ;  the  Missis 
sippi,  the  Missouri,  and  the  Red  River  of  the  North. 
Though  remote  from  the  sea  board,  ships  can  go 
out  from  its  harbors  to  the  ocean  in  two  if  not  three 
different  channels.  Its  delightful  scenery  of  lakes 
and  water-falls,  of  prairie  and  woodland,  are  not 
more  alluring  to  the  tourist,  than  are  its  invigora 
ting  climate  and  its  verdant  fields  attractive  to  the 
husbandman.  It  has  been  organized  seven  years  ; 
and  its  resources  have  become  so  much  developed, 
and  its  population  so  large,  there  is  a  general  dis 
position  among  the  people  to  have  a  state  organiza- 

(175) 


176  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

tion,  and  be  admitted  into  the  Confederacy  of  the 
Union.1  A  measure  of  this  kind  is  not  now  prema 
ture  :  on  the  contrary,  it  is  not  for  the  interest  of 
the  general  government  any  longer  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  the  territory  ;  and  the  adoption  of  a 
state  organization,  throwing  the  taxes  upon  the 
people,  would  give  rise  to  a  spirit  of  rivalry  and 
emulation,  a  watchfulness  as  to  the  system  of  public 
expenditures,  and  a  more  jealous  regard  for  the  pro 
per  development  of  the  physical  resources  of  the  state. 
The  legislature  which  meets  in  January  (1857),  will 
without  doubt  take  the  subject  into  consideration,  and 
provide  for  a  convention  to  frame  a  constitution. 

This  being  the  condition  of  things,  the  manner 
in  which  the  territory  shall  be  divided — for  no  one 
can  expect  the  new  state  will  embrace  the  whole 
extent  of  the  present  territory — becomes  a  very  in 
teresting  question.  Some  maintain,  I  believe,  that 
the  territory  should  be  divided  by  a  line  running 
east  and  west.  That  would  include  in  its  limits  the 
country  bordering,  for  some  distance,  on  the  Mis 
souri  River  ;  possibly  the  head  of  navigation  of  the 
Red  River  of  the  North.  But  it  is  hardly  probable 
that  a  line  of  this  description  would  give  Minnesota 
any  part  of  Lake  Superior.  Others  maintain  that 
the  territory  should  be  divided  by  a  line  running 
north  and  south;  say,  for  instance,  along  the  valley 

1  On  the  9th  of  December  Mr.  Rice,  the  delegate  in  congress  from 
Minnesota,  gave  notice  to  the  house  that  he  would  in  a  few  days  in 
troduce  a  bill  authorizing  the  people  of  the  territory  to  hold  a  con 
vention  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  state  constitution. 


PROPOSED  NEW  TERRITORY  OF  DACOTAH.   177 

of  the  Bed  River  of  the  North.  Such  a  division 
would  not  give  Minnesota  any  of  the  Missouri  River. 
But  it  would  have  the  benefit  of  the  eastern  valley 
of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  ;  of  the  entire  region 
surrounding  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  of 
the  broad  expanse  which  lies  on  Lake  Superior. 
The  question  is  highly  important,  not  only  to  Min 
nesota,  but  to  the  territory  which  will  be  left  out 
side  of  it ;  and  it  should  be  decided  with  a  due  re 
gard  to  the  interests  of  both.1 

1 1  take  pleasure  in  inserting  here  a  note  which  I  have  had  the 
honor  to  receive  from  Captain  Pope,  of  the  Corps  of  Topographical 
Engineers.  I  have  before  had  occasion  to  quote  from  the  able  and 
instructive  report  of  his  exploration  of  Minnesota. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.  Dec.  10,  1856. 

DEAR  SIR: — Your  note  of  the  6th  instant  is  before  me;  and  I  will 
premise  iny  reply  by  saying  that  the  suggestions  I  shall  offer  to  your 
inquiries  are  based  upon  my  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  the  terri 
tory  in  1849,  which  circumstances  beyond  my  acquaintance  may  have 
materially  modified  since. 

The  important  points  to  be  secured  for  the  new  state  to  be  erected 
in  the  territory  of  Minnesota,  seem  to  be : — first  a  harbor  on  Lake 
Superior,  easily  accessible  from  the  West;  second,  the  whole  course 
of  the  Mississippi  to  the  Iowa  line;  and,  third,  the  head  of  naviga 
tion  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North.  It  is  unnecessary  to  point  out 
the  advantages  of  securing  these  features  to  the  new  state  ;  and  to  do 
so  without  enclosing  too  many  square  miles  of  territory,  I  would 
suggest  the  following  boundaries,  viz. : 

Commencing  on  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  where  it  is  intersected 
by  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  to  follow  the  line  of  deepest  water  of 
that  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Bois  des  Sioux  (or  Sioux  Wood)  River; 
thence  up  the  middle  of  that  stream  to  the  south-west  point  of  Lake 
Traverse;  thence  following  a  due  south  line  to  the  northern  bound 
ary  of  the  state  of  Iowa  (43°  30'  north  latitude);  thence  along  this 
boundary  line  to  the  Mississippi  River;  thence  up  the  middle  of  tho 
Mississippi  River  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  River;  thence  along 


178  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

If  the  division  last  mentioned — or  one  on  that 
plan — is  made,  there  will  then  be  left  west  of  the 
state  of  Minnesota  an  extent  of  country  embracing 

the  western  boundary  line  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin  to  its  intersection 
with  the  St.  Louis  River;  thence  down  the  middle  of  that  river  to 
Lake  Superior;  thence  following  the  coast  of  the  lake  to  its  intersec 
tion  with  the  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  the  British 
possessions,  and  following  this  boundary  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

These  boundaries  will  enclose  an  area  of  about  65,000  square  miles 
of  the  best  agricultural  and  manufacturing  region  in  the  territory, 
and  will  form  a  state  of  unrivalled  advantages.  That  portion  of  the 
territory  set  aside  by  the  boundary  line  will  be  of  little  value  for 
many  years  to  come.  It  presents  features  differing  but  little  from 
the  region  of  prairie  and  table  land  west  of  the  frontier  of  Missouri 
and  Arkansas.  From  this,  of  course,  are  to  be  excepted  the  western 
half  of  the  valley  of  the  Red  River  aud  of  the  Big  Sioux  River,  which 
are  as  productive  as  any  portion  of  the  territory,  which,  with  the 
region  enclosed  between  them,  would  contain  arable  land  sufficient 
for  another  state  of  smaller  dimensions. 

As  you  will  find  stated  and  fully  explained  in  my  report  of  Febru 
ary,  1850,  the  valley  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  must  find  an  out 
let  for  its  productions  towards  the  south,  either  through  the  great 
lakes  or  by  the  Mississippi  River.  The  necessity,  therefore,  of  con 
necting  the  head  of  its  navigation  with  a  harbor  on  Lake  Superior, 
and  a  port  on  the  Mississippi,  is  sufficiently  apparent.  As  each  of 
these  lines  of  railroad  will  run  through  the  most  fertile  and  desirable 
portion  of  the  territory,  they  will  have  a  value  far  beyond  the  mere 
object  of  transporting  the  products  of  the  Red  River  valley. 

The  construction  of  these  roads — in  fact  the  mere  location  of  them 
— will  secure  a  population  along  the  routes  at  once,  and  will  open  a 
country  equal  to  any  in  the  world. 

As  these  views  have  been  fully  elaborated  in  my  report  of  1850,  I 
refer  you  to  that  paper  for  the  detailed  information  upon  which  these 
views  and  suggestions  are  based. 

I  am  sir,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JNO.  POPE. 

C.  C.  ANDREWS,  Esq., 

Washington,  D.  C. 


PROPOSED  NEW  TERRITORY  OF  DACOTA1I.       179 

more  than  half  of  the  territory  as  it  now  is  ;  extend 
ing  from  latitude  42°  30'  to  the  49th  degree ;  and 
embracing  six  degrees  of  longitude — 97th  to  103d — 
jit  its  northern  extreme.  The  Missouri  River  would 
constitute  nearly  the  whole  of  its  western  boundary. 
In  the  northerly  part  the  Mouse  and  Pembina 
Rivers  are  among  its  largest  streams  ;  in  the  middle 
flows  the  large  and  finely  wooded  Shayenne,  "  whose 
valley  possesses  a  fertile  soil  and  offers  many  induce 
ments  to  its  settlement ;"  while  towards  the  south  it 
would  have  the  Jacques,  the  Big  Sioux,  the  Vermillion, 
and  the  head  waters  of  the  St.  Peter's.  In  its  supply 
of  copious  streams,  nature  seems  there  to  have  been 
lavish.  Of  the  Big  Sioux  River,  M.  Nicollet  says, 
its  Indian  name  means  that  it  is  continuously  lined 
with  wood  ;  that  its  length  cannot  be  less  than  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles.  "  It  flows  through  a  beau 
tiful  and  fertile  country ;  amidst  which  the  Daco- 
tahs,  inhabiting  the  valleys  of  the  St.  Peter's  and 
Missouri,  have  always  kept  up  summer  establish 
ments  on  the  borders  of  the  adjoining  lakes,  whilst) 
they  hunted  the  river  banks.  Buffalo  herds  are 
confidently  expected  to  be  met  with  here  at  all  sea 
sons  of  the  year."  The  Jacques  (the  Indian  name 
of  which  is  Tchan-sansan)  "  takes  its  rise  on  the 
plateau  of  the  Missouri  beyond  the  parallel  of  47° 
north  ;  and  after  pursuing  nearly  a  north  and  south 
course,  empties  into  the  Missouri  River  below  43°. 
It  is  deemed  navigable  with  small  hunting  canoes 
for  between  five  hundred  and  six  hundred  miles ;  but 


180  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

below  Otuhuoja,  it  will  float  much  larger  boats. 
The  shores  of  the  river  are  generally  tolerably  well 
wooded,  though  only  at  intervals.  Along  those  por 
tions  where  it  widens  into  lakes,  very  eligible  situa 
tions  for  farms  would  be  found."  The  same  explorer 
says,  the  most  important  tributary  of  the  Jacques  is 
the  Elm  River,  which  "  might  not  deserve  any  special 
mention  as  a  navigable  stream,  but  is  very  well 
worthy  of  notice  on  account  of  the  timber  growing 
on  its  own  banks  and  those  of  its  forks."  He  fur 
ther  observes  (Report,  p.  46)  that  "  the  basin  of  the 
river  Jacques,  between  the  two  coteaux  and  in  the 
latitude  of  Otuhuoja,  may  be  laid  down  as  having  a 
breadth  of  eighty  miles,  sloping  gradually  down 
from  an  elevation  of  seven  hundred  to  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  feet.  These  dimensions,  of  course,  vary 
in  the  different  parts  of  the  valley  ;  but  what  I  have 
said  will  convey  some  idea  of  the  immense  prairie 
watered  by  the  Tchan-sansan,  which  has  been 
deemed  by  all  travellers  to  those  distant  regions 
perhaps  the  most  beautiful  within  the  territory  of 
the  United  States." 

The  middle  and  northern  part  comprises  an 
elevated  plain,  of  average  fertility  and  tolerably 
wooded.  Towards  the  south  it  is  characterized  by 
bold  undulations.  The  valley  of  the  Missouri  is 
narrow ;  and  the  bluffs  which  border  upon  it  are 
abrupt  and  high.  The  country  is  adapted  to  agri 
cultural  pursuits,  and  though  inferior  as  a  general 
thing  to  much  of  Minnesota,  affords  promise  of 


PROPOSED  NEW  TERRITORY  OF  DACOTAII.       181 

thrift  and  properity  in  its  future.  It  is  blessed  with 
a  salubrious  climate.  Dr.  Buckley,  who  accompa 
nied  the  expedition  of  Gov.  Stevens  through  that 
part  of  the  West,  as  far  as  Puget  Sound,  says  in  his 
official  report :  "  On  reviewing  the  whole  route,  the 
unequalled  and  unparalleled  good  health  of  the 
command  during  a  march  of  over  eighteen  hundred 
miles  appears  remarkable ;  especially  when  we  con 
sider  the  hardships  and  exposures  necessarily  inci 
dent  to  such  a  trip.  Not  a  case  of  ague  or  fever 
occurred.  Such  a  state  of  health  could  only  be  ac 
counted  for  by  the  great  salubrity  of  the  countries 
passed  through,  and  their  freedom  from  malarious 
or  other  endemic  disease." 

Governor  Stevens  has  some  comprehensive  re 
marks  concerning  that  part  of  the  country  in  his 
report.  "  The  Grand  Plateau  of  the  Bois  des  Sioux 
and  the  Mouse  River  valley  are  the  two  keys  of 
railroad  communication,  from  the  Mississippi  River 
westward  through  the  territory  of  Minnesota. 
The  Bois  des  Sioux  is  a  river  believed  to  be  navi 
gable  for  steamers  of  light  draught,  flowing  north 
ward  from  Lake  Traverse  into  the  Red  River  of  the 
North,  and  the  plateau  of  the  Bois  des  Sioux  may 
be  considered  as  extending  from  south  of  Lake 
Traverse  to  the  south  bend  of  the  Red  River,  and 
from  the  Rabbit  River,  some  thirty  miles  east  of 
the  Bois  des  Sioux  River,  to  the  Dead  Colt  Hillock. 
This  plateau  separates  the  rivers  flowing  into 
Hudson's  Bay  from  those  flowing  into  the  M issis- 
16 


182  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTA II. 

sippi  River.  The  Mouse  River  valley,  in  the  west 
ern  portion  of  Minnesota,  is  from  ten  to  twenty 
miles  broad ;  is  separated  from  the  Missouri  River 
by  the  Coteau  du  Missouri,  some  six  hundred  feet 
high,  and  it  is  about  the  same  level  as  the  parallel 
valley  of  the  Missouri." — (Report,  ch.  4.) 

M.  Nicollet  was  a  scientific  or  matter  of  fact 
man,  who  preferred  to  talk  about  "  erratic  blocks" 
and  "  cretaceous  formations"  rather  than  to  indulge 
in  poetic  descriptions.  The  outline  which  follows, 
however,  of  the  western  part  of  the  territory  is 
what  he  considers  "  a  faint  description  of  this  beau 
tiful  country."  "The  basin  of  the  Upper  Missisippi 
is  separated  in  a  great  part  of  its  extent  from  that 
of  the  Missouri,  by  an  elevated  plain ;  the  appear 
ance  of  which,  seen  from  the  valley  of  the  St. 
Peter's  or  that  of  the  Jacques,  looming  as  it  were  a 
distant  shore,  has  suggested  for  it  the  name  of  Coteau 
des  Prairies.  Its  more  appropriate  designation  would 
be  that  of  plateau,  which  means  something  more  than 
is  conveyed  to  the  mind  by  the  expression,  a  plain. 
Its  northern  extremity  is  in  latitude  46°,  extending 
to  43°  ;  after  which  it  loses  its  distinctive  elevation 
above  the  surrounding  plains,  and  passes  into  rolling 
prairies.  Its  length  is  about  two  hundred  miles, 
and  its  general  direction  N.  N.  W.  and  S.  S.  E. 
Its  northern  termination  (called  Tete  du  Couteau 
in  consequence  of  its  peculiar  configuration)  is  not 
more  than  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  across ;  its  eleva 
tion  above  the  level  of  the  Big  Stone  Lake  is  eight 


PROPOSED  NEW  TERRITORY  OF  DACOTAH.   183 

hundred  and  ninety  feet,  and  above  the  ocean  one 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixteen  feet.  Starting 
from  this  extremity  (that  is,  the  head  of  the  Coteau), 
the  surface  of  the  plateau  is  undulating,  forming 
many  dividing  ridges  which  separate  the  waters 
flowing  into  the  St.  Peter's  and  the  Mississippi  from 
those  of  the  Missouri.  Under  the  44th  degree  of 
latitude,  the  breadth  of  the  Coteau  is  about  forty 
miles,  and  its  mean  elevation  is  here  reduced  to 
one  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the 
sea.  Within  this  space  its  two  slopes  are  rather 
abrupt,  crowned  with  verdure,  and  scolloped  by 
deep  ravines  thickly  shaded  with  bushes,  forming 
the  beds  of  rivulets  that  water  the  subjacent  plains. 

The  Coteau  itself  is  isolated,  in  the  midst  of 
boundless  and  fertile  prairies,  extending  to  the  west, 
to  the  north,  and  into  the  valley  of  the  St.  Peter's. 

The  plain  at  its  northern  extremity  is  a  most 
beautiful  tract  of  land  diversified  by  hills,  dales, 
woodland,  and  lakes,  the  latter  abounding  in  fish. 
This  region  of  country  is  probably  the  most  elevated 
between  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  Hudson's  Bay. 
From  its  summit,  proceeding  from  its  western  to  its 
eastern  limits,  grand  views  are  afforded.  At  its 
eastern  border  particularly,  the  prospect  is  magnifi 
cent  beyond  description,  extending  over  the  im 
mense  green  turf  that  forms  the  basin  of  the  Red 
River  of  the  North,  the  forest-capped  summits  of 
the  hauteurs  des  terres  that  surround  the  sources  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  granitic  valley  of  the  Upper 


184  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

St.  Peter's,  and  the  depressions  in  which  are  Lake 
Traverse  and  the  Big  Stone  Lake.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  in  future  times  this  region  will  be  the 
summer  resort  of  the  wealthy  of  the  land."  (pp.  9, 
10.) 

I  will  pass  over  what  he  says  of  the  "  vast  and 
magnificent  valley  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North," 
having  before  given  some  account  of  that  region, 
and  merely  give  his  description  of  the  largest  lake 
which  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the  territory : 
"  The  greatest  extension  of  Devil's  Lake  is  at  least 
forty  miles, — but  may  be  more,  as  we  did  not,  am1 
could  not,  ascertain  the  end  of  the  north-west  bay, 
which  I  left  undefined  on  the  map.  It  is  bordered 
by  hills  that  are  pretty  well  wooded  on  one  side,  but 
farrowed  by  ravines  and  coulees,  that  are  taken  ad 
vantage  of  by  warlike  parties,  both  for  attack  and 
defence  according  to  circumstances.  The  lake 
itself  is  so  filled  up  with  islands  and  promontories, 
that,  in  travelling  along  its  shores,  it  is  only  occa 
sionally  that  one  gets  a  glimpse  of  its  expanse. 
This  description  belongs  only  to  its  wooded  side ; 
for,  on  the  opposite  side,  the  shores,  though  still 
bounded  by  hills,  are  destitute  of  trees,  so  as  to 
exhibit  an  embankment  to  the  east  from  ten  to  twelve 
miles  long,  upon  an  average  breadth  of  three-quar 
ters  of  a  mile.  The  average  breadth  of  the  lake 
may  be  laid  down  at  fifteen  miles.  Its  waters  ap 
pear  to  be  the  drainings  of  the  surrounding  hills. 
We  discovered  no  outlets  in  the  whole  extent  of 


PROPOSED  NEW  TERRITORY  OF  DACOTAH.   185 

about  three-quarters  of  its  contour  we  could  explore. 
At  all  events,  if  there  be  any  they  do  not  empty 
into  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  since  the  lake  is  shut 
up  in  that  direction,  and  since  we  found  its  true  geo 
graphical  position  to  be  much  more  to  the  north  than 
it  is  ordinarily  laid  down  upon  maps.  A  single  de 
pression  at  its  lower  end  would  intimate  that,  in 
times  of  high  water,  some  discharge  might  possibly 
take  place  ;  but  then  it  would  be  into  the  Shay- 
enner  (p.  50.) 

Such  are  some  of  the  geographical  outlines  of 
the  extensive  domain  which  will  be  soon  organized 
as  a  new  territory. 

What  will  it  be  called  ?  If  the  practice  hitherto 
followed  of  applying  to  territories  the  names  which 
they  have  been  called  by  their  aboriginal  inhabit 
ants  is  still  adhered  to,  this  new  territory  will  have 
the  name  of  Dacotah.  It  is  the  correct  or  Indian 
name  of  those  tribes  whom  we  call  the  Sioux ;  the 
latter  being  an  unmeaning  Indian-French  word. 
Dacotah  means  "united  people,"  and  is  the  word 
which  the  Indians  apply  to  seven  of  their  bands.1 

1  The  following  description  of  the  Dacotahs  is  based  on  observa 
tions  made  in  1823.  "  The  Dacotahs  are  a  large  and  powerful  nation 
of  Indians,  distinct  in  their  manners,  language,  habits,  and  opinions, 
from  the  Chippewas,  Sauks,  Foxes,  and  Naheawak  or  Kilisteno,  as 
well  as  from  all  nations  of  the  Algonquin  stock.  They  are  likewise 
unlike  the  Pawnees  and  the  Minnetarees  or  Gros  Vcntres.  They  in 
habit  a  large  district  of  country  which  may  be  comprised  within  the 
following  limits : — From  Prairie  du  Chien,  on  the  Mississippi,  by  a 
curved  lino  extending  east  of  north  and  made  to  include  all  the  east- 

16* 


186  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

These  tribes  formerly  occupied  the  country  south 
and  south-west  of  Lake  Superior ;  from  whence  they 
were  gradually  driven  towards  the  Missouri  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains  by  their  powerful  and  dreaded 
enemies  the  Chippewas.  Since  which  time  they 
have  been  the  acknowledged  occupants  of  the  broad 
region  to  which  they  have  impressed  a  name.  Seve 
ral  of  the  tribes,  however,  have  crossed  the  Missouri, 
between  which  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  they  still 
linger  a  barbaric  life.  We  may  now  hope  to  realize 
the  truth  of  Hiawatha's  words  : — 

ern  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the  first  branch  of  Chippewa 
River;  the  head  waters  of  that  stream  being  claimed  by  the  Chippewa 
Indians;  thence  by  a  line  running  west  of  north  to  the  head  of 
Spirit  Lake;  thence  by  a  westerly  line  to  the  Riviere  de  Corbea.u; 
thence  up  that  river  to  its  head,  near  Otter  Tail  Lake;  thence  by  a 
westerly  line  to  Red  River,  and  down  that  river  to  Pembina;  thence 
by  a  south-westerly  line  to  the  east  bank  of  the  Missouri  near  the 
Mandau  villages;  thence  down  the  Missouri  to  a  point  probably  not 
far  from  Soldier's  River;  thence  by  a  line  running  east  of  north  to 
Prairie  du  Chien. 

This  immense  extent  of  country  is  inhabited  by  a  nation  calling 
themselves,  in  their  internal  relations,  the  Dacotah,  which  means  the 
Allied;  but  who,  in  their  external  relations,  style  themselves  the 
Ochente  Shakoan,  which  signifies  the  nation  of  seven  (council)  fires. 
This  refers  to  the  following  division  which  formerly  prevailed  among 
them,  viz. : — 

1.  Mende-Wahkan-toan,  or  people  of  the  Spirit  Lake. 

2.  Wahkpa-toan,  or  people  of  the  leaves. 

3.  Sisi-toan,  or  Miakechakesa. 

4.  Yank-toan-an,  or  Fern  leaves. 

5.  Yank-toan,  or  descended  from  the  Fern  leaves. 

6.  Ti-toan,  or  Braggers. 

7.  Wahkpako-toan,  or  the  people  that  shoot  at  leaves. — Lony's  Ex 
pedition  to  Sources  of  St.  Peter's  River,  &c.,  vol.  1,  pp.  376,  378. 


PROPOSED  NEW  TERRITORY  OF  DACOTAH.       187 

"  After  many  years  of  warfare, 
Many  years  of  strife  and  bloodshed, 
There  is  peace  between  the  Ojibways 
And  the  tribe  of  the  Dacotahs." 

If  it  be  asked  'what  will  be  done  with  these  tribes 
when  the  country  comes  to  be  settled,  I  would  ob 
serve,  as  I  have  said,  that  the  present  policy  of 
the  government  is  to  procure  their  settlement  on 
reservations.  This  limits  them  to  smaller  bound 
aries  ;  and  tends  favorably  to  their  civilization.  I 
might  also  say  here,  that  the  title  which  the  Indians 
have  to  the  country  they  occupy  is  that  of  occu 
pancy.  They  have  the  natural  right  to  occupy  the 
land ;  but  the  absolute  and  sovereign  title  is  in  the 
United  States.  The  Indians  can  dispose  of  their 
title  to  no  party  or  power  but  the  United  States. 
When,  however,  the  government  wishes  to  extinguish 
their  title  of  occupancy,  it  pays  them  a  fair  price 
for  their  lands  according  as  may  be  provided  by 
treaty.  The  policy  of  our  government  towards  the 
Indians  is  eminently  that  of  protection  and  preserva 
tion  ;  not  of  conquest  and  extermination. 

Dacotah  is  the  name  now  applied  to  the  western 
part  of  Minnesota,  and  I  am  assured  by  the  best 
informed  men  of  that  section,  that  such  will  be  the 
name  of  the  territory  when  organized. 


PART  III. 
TABLE  OF  STATISTICS. 


I.  LIST  OF  POST  OFFICES  AXD  POSTMASTERS  IN  MINNESOTA. 
II.  LAND  OFFICES,  &c. 

III.  NEWSPAPERS  PUBLISHED  IN  MINNESOTA. 
IV.  TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


(189) 


I. 


POST  OFFICES  AND  POSTMASTERS. 


I  HAVE  been  furnished,  at  brief  notice,  with  the 
following  accurate  list  of  the  Post  Offices  and  Post 
masters  in  Minnesota  by  my  very  excellent  friend, 
Mr.  JOHN  N.  OLIVER,  of  the  Sixth  Auditor's  Office  : 

LIST  OF  POST  OFFICES  AND  POSTMASTERS  IN  THE 
TERRITOTY  OF  MINNESOTA,  PREPARED  FROM  THE 
BOOKS  OF  THE  APPOINTMENT  OFFICE,  POST  OFFICE 
DEPARTMENT,  TO  DECEMBER  12,  1856. 


Post  Office. 

Postmaster.       \  Post  Office. 

Postmaster. 

BENTON  COUNTY.                    Scandia  .... 

A.  Bergquest. 

Belle  Prairie  . 
Big  Lake     .     . 
Clear  Lake     . 

.    Calvin  C.  Hicks. 
.    Joseph  Brown. 
.    F.  E.  Baldwin. 

San  Francisco      .    James  B.  Cotton. 
Young  America  .    R.  M.  Kennedy. 

CIIISAGO  COUNTY. 

Crow  Wing 

.    Allen  Morrison. 

Elk  River  .    . 

.    John  Q.  A.  Nickerson. 

Amador  .... 

Lorenzo  A.  Lowden. 

Itasca      .    .     . 

.    John  C.  Bowers. 

Cedar  Creek  .    . 

Samuel  Wyatt. 

Little  Falls     . 

.     C.  II.  Churchill. 

Chippewa   .    .    . 

J.  P.  Guiding. 

Royal  ton      .     . 
Sauk  Rapids   . 

.     Rodolph's  D.  Kinney. 
.    C.  B.  Vanstest. 

Chisago  City  .     . 
Hanley  .... 

Henry  S.  Cluiger. 
John  Hanley. 

Swan  River     . 

.    James  Warren. 

Rushseby    .    .    . 

George  B.  Folsom. 

Watab    .    .    . 

.     David  Oilman. 

Sunrise  Citv   .    . 

George  S.  Frost. 

Taylor's  Falls     . 

Peter  E.  Walker. 

BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 

Wyoming    .    .    . 

Jordan  Egle. 

Kasota     .    .    . 

.    Isaac  Allen. 

DAKOTA  COUNTY. 

Mankato      .    . 

.    Parsons  K.  Johnson. 

Athens    .... 

Jacob  Whittemore. 

Liberty  .      .     . 

.    Edward  Brace. 

Centralia    .    .     . 

H.  P.  Sweet. 

Pujutazee     .    . 

.    Andrew  Robertson. 

Empire  City  .    . 

Ralph  P.  Hamilton. 

South  Bend      . 

.     Matthew  Thompson. 

Farmington    .    . 

Noredon  Amedon. 

Winnebago  Agency  Henry  Foster. 

Fort  Snelling  .     . 

Franklin  Steele. 

Hampton    .    .    . 

James  Archer. 

BROWN  COUNTY. 

Hastings     .     .     . 
Lakeville    .    .    . 

John  F.  Marsh. 
Samuel  P.  Baker. 

New  Ulm    .    . 

.    Anton  Kans. 

Le  Sueur     .    .     . 

Kostum  K.  Peck. 

Sioux  Agency 

.    Asa  W.  Daniels. 

Lewistou     .    .    . 

Stephen  N.  Carej. 

Mendota      .    .     . 

Hvpolite  Dupues. 

CARVER  COUNTY. 

Ninninger  .     .    . 
Ottowa   .... 

Louis  Loichot. 
Frank  Y.  Hoffstott. 

Carver    .    .    . 

.    Joseph  A.  Sargent. 

Rosemount      .     . 

Andrew  Keegan. 

Chaska   .    .    . 

.     Timothy  D.  Smith. 

Vermillion      .     . 

Leonard  Aldrich. 

La  Belle  .    .    . 

.    Isaac  Berfield. 

Waterford  .    .    . 

Warren  Atkinson. 

(191) 


192 


MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 


Post 


Postmaster. 


DODGE  COUNTY. 

Avon Noah  F.  Berry. 

Ashland       .     .    .  George  Townsend. 

Claremont       .     .  George  Hitchcock. 

Concord  ....  James  M.  Smnner. 

Montorville     .     .  John  II.  Shober. 

Wasioga     ...  Eli  P.  Waterman. 

FARIBAULT  COUNT Y. 

Blue  Earth  City      George  B.  Kingsley. 
Verona  ....    Newell  Dewey. 

FILLMORE  COUNTY. 

.  Bellville      .    .    .  Wilson  Bell. 

Bi"  Spring       .     .  William  Walter. 

Chattield     .    .    .  Edwin  B.  Gere. 

Clarimona  .    .     .  Wm.  F.  Strong. 

Deer  Creek     .    .  William  S.  Hill. 

Elkhorn      .     .     .  Jacob  McQuillan. 

Elliota    ....  John  C.  Cleghorn. 

Etna O.  B.  Bryant. 

Fairview     .    .    .  John  G.  Bouldia. 

Fillmore      .    .    .  Robert  Rea. 

Forestville .    .    .  Forest  Henry. 

Jordan    ....  James  M.  Gilliss. 

Lenora    ....  Chas.  B.  Wilford. 

Locking  Glass    .  Lemuel  Jones. 

Newburg     .     .     .  Gabriel  Gabrielson. 

Odessa    ....  Jacob  P.  Kennedy. 

Peterson      .     .     .  Knud  Peterson. 

Pilot  Mound    •     .  Daniel  B.  Smith. 

Preston  .    .    .    .  L.  Preston. 

Riceford      .    .    .  Wm,  D.  Vandoren. 

Richland     .    .     .  Benjn.  F.  Tillotsnn. 

Rnshford     .     .     .  Sylvester  S.  Stebbms. 

Spring  Valley     .  Condello  Wilkins. 

Uxbridge     .     .     .  Daniel  Crowell. 

Waukokee  .    .    .  John  M.  West. 

FREEBORN  COUNTY. 

Albert  Lea      .    .    Lorenzo  Murray. 
Geneva  ....    John  Heath. 
St.  Nicholas    .     .     Saml.   M.  Thompson. 
Shell  Rock      .    .    Edward  P.  Skinner. 

GOODIIUE  COUNTY. 
Burr  Oak  Springs    Henry  Doyle. 
Cannon  River  Falls  George  McKenzie. 
Central  Point .     .     Charles  W.  Hackett. 
Pine  Island      .    .    John  Chance. 
Poplar  Grove  .    .    John  Lee. 
Red  Wing    .    .     .    Henry  C.  Hoffman. 
Spencer  ....    Hans  Mattson. 
Wacouta      .    .    .    George  Post. 
Westervelt      .    .    Evert  Westervelt. 

IIENNEPIN  COUNTY. 


Post  Office. 

Maple  Plain  . 
Medicine  Lake 
Minneapolis  . 
Minnetonka  . 
Osseo  .... 
Perkinsville  . 
Watertown  . 
Wyzata .  .  . 


Postmaster. 

Irvin  Shrewsbury. 
Francis  Hagot. 
Alfred  E.  Ames. 
Levi  W.  Eastman. 
Warren  Samson. 
N.  T.  Perkins. 
Alexander  Moore. 
W.  11.  Chapman. 


HOUSTON  COUNTY. 

Brownsville     .     .     Charles  Brown. 


Caledonia  .  . 
Hamilton  .  . 
Hackett's  Grove 
Hokah  .  .  . 
Houston .  .  . 
Loretta  .  .  . 
Looneyville  . 
La  Crescent  . 
Mooney  Creek 
Portland  .  . 
Sheldon  .  .  . 
Spring  Grove  . 
San  Jacinto  . 
Wiscoy  .  .  . 
Yucatan  .  . 


Wm.  J.  McKee. 
Charles  Smith 
Emery  Hackett. 
Edward  Thompson. 
Ole  Knudson. 
Edmund  S.  Lore. 
Daniel  Wilson. 
William  Gillett. 
Cyrus  B.  Sinclair. 
A'lexr.  Batcheller. 
John  Paddock. 
Embric  Knudson. 
George  Canon. 
Beuton  Aldrich. 
T.  A.  Pope. 


Bloomington  . 

Chanhassen  . 

Dayton    .     .  . 

Eden  Prairie  . 
Elm  Creek 

Harmony    .  . 

Excelsior    .  . 

Island  City  . 


Reuben  B.  Gibson. 
Henry  M.  Lyman. 
John  Baxter. 
Jonas  Staring. 
Charles  Miles. 
James  A.  Dunsmore. 
Charles  P.  Smith. 
William  F.  Russell. 


LAKE  COUNTY. 
Burlington      .    .    Chas.  B.  Harbord. 

LE  SUEUR  COUNTY. 
Elysium      .    .    .    Silas  S.  Munday. 
I  Grandville      .    .    Bartlet  Y.  Couch. 
I  Lexington  ,    .     .     Henry  Earl. 
Waterville      .    .    Samuel  D.  Drake. 

McLEOD  COUNTY. 
Glencoe  ....    Surman  G.  Simmons. 
Hutehiuson     .    .    Lewis  Harrington. 

MEEKER  COUNTY. 

Forest  City     .    .    Walter  C.  Bacon. 

MORRISON  COUNTY. 

Little  Falls     .    .    Orlando  A.  Churchill. 

MOWER  COUNTY. 
Austin     ....    Alanson  B.  Vaughan. 
Frankford  .    .    .    Lewis  Patchin. 
High  Forest    .     .     Thos.  II.  Armstrong. 
Le  Roy   ....    Daniel  Caswell. 

NICOLLET  COUNTY. 
Eureka  ....    Edwin  Clark. 

Hilo William  Dupray. 

Saint  Peter     .    .    George  Hezlep. 
Travers  des  Sioux  William  Huey. 

OLMSTEAD  COUNTY. 

Durango      .     .     .     Samuel  Brink. 
Kalmar  ....    James  A.  Blair. 
Oronoco  ....     Samuel  P.  Hicks. 
Pleasant  Grove   .    Samuel  Barrows. 


POST  OFFICES  AND  POSTMASTERS. 


193 


Post  Office.              Postmaster. 

Post  Office.             Postmaster. 

OLMSTEAD  COUNTY. 

STEELE  COUNTY. 

Rochester    .    .    .    Phineas  II.  Durfel. 

Adamsville      .    .    Hiram  Pitcher. 

Salem     ....    Cyrus  Holt. 

Aurora    ....     Charles  Adsit. 

Springfield      .     .    Alrnoti  H.  Smith. 

Dodge  City      .     .     John  Coburn. 

Waterloo     .    .    .    Robert  S.  Latta. 

Ellwood       .    .    .    Wilber  F.  Fiske. 

Zumbro  ....     Lucy  Coblx 

Josco  James  Hanes. 

PEMBINA  COUNTY. 

Lomond  ....     Abram  Fitzsimmons. 
Owatana      .     .     .     Samuel  B.  Smith. 

Cap  Lake    .    .    .    David  B.  Spencer. 

St.  Mary's  .     .    .     Horatio  B.  Morrison. 

Pembina      .     .    .    Joseph  Rolette. 

Swavesey    .    .    ,    Andrew  J.  Bell. 

Red  Lake    .     .    .    Sela  G.  Wright. 

Wilton   ....    David  J.  Jenkins. 

Saint  Joseph's     .    George  A.  Belcourt. 

SUPERIOR  COUNTY. 

PIERCE  COUNTY. 

Beaver  Bar     .    .    Robert  McLean. 

Fort  Ridgeley  .    .    Benjn.  H.  Randall. 

French  River  .     .    F.  W.  Watrous. 
Grand  Marias      .     Richard  Godfrey. 

PINE  COUNTY. 

Grand  Portage    .    H.  II.  McCullough. 

Alhambra  .    .    .    Herman  Trott. 

WABASIIAW  COUNTY. 

Mille  Lac    ...    Mark  Leadbetter. 

Greenville  .    .     .    Rodman  Benchard. 

RAMSEY  COUNTY. 
Anoka     ....    Arthur  Davis. 

Independence      .     Seth  L.  McCartv. 
Lake  City.     .     .  {  "«£*   *'•    William- 

Centreville      .    .    Charles  Pettin. 

Mazeppa     .    .    .    John  E.  Hyde. 

Columbus    .     .     .    John  Klerman. 

Minneska    .    .    .    Nathaniel  F.  Tifft. 

Howard's  Lake   .    John  P.  Howard. 

Minnesota  City    .    Samuel  E.  Cotton. 

Little  Canada      .    Walter  B.  Bovd. 

Mount  Vermin    .    Stephen  M.  Burns. 

Manomine  .     .     .    Joseph  A.  Willis. 

Reed's  Landing  .    Fordvco  S.  Richard. 

Otter  Lake      .    .    Ross  Wilkinson. 

Wabashaw      .     .    J.  F.  Byrne. 

Red  Rock    .    .    .    Giles  II.  Fowler. 

West  Newton      .    Austin'R.  Swan. 

St.  Anthony's  Falls  Norton  II.  Hemiup. 
St.  Paul      .    .    .     Charles  S.  Cave. 

WAI1NATAH  COUNTY. 

RICE  COUNTY. 

Fort  Ripley     .    .    Solon  W.  Manney. 

Cannon  City    .    .     C.  Smith  House. 

WASHINGTON  COUNTY. 

Faribault    .    .    .    Alexander  Faribault. 
Medford       .    .     .     Smith  Johnson. 

Cottage  Grove     .    Stephen  F.  Douglass. 
Lake  Land      .     .    Freeman  C.  Tyler. 

Morristown     .    .     Walter  Norris. 

Marine  Mills  .     .     Orange  Walker. 

Northfield  .     .    .    Calvin  S.  Short. 

Milton  Mills    .    .    Lemuel  Bolles. 

Shieldsville     .     .    Joshua  Tufts. 
Union  Lake    .    .    Henrv  M.  Humphrey. 
Walcott  ....    Joseph  Richardson.  " 

Point  Douglass    .    R.  R.  Henrv. 
Stillwater   .     .     .     Harley  Curtis. 

SAINT  LOUIS  COUNTY. 

WINONA  COUNTY. 
Dacota    ....    Nathan  Brown. 

Falls  of  St.  Louis    Joseph  Y.  Buckner. 

Eagle  Bluffs    .    .    William  W.  Bennett. 

Oneota    ....    Edmund  F.  Ely. 

Homer    .     .     ,    .    John  A.  Torrey. 

Twin  Lakes    .    .    George  W.  Perry. 

New  Boston    .  -  .    William  .H  Dwight. 

SCOTT  COUNTY. 

Richmond    .     .     .     Samuel  C.  Dick. 
Ridgeway    .     .     .    Joseph  Cooper. 

Belle  Plaine    .    .    Xahum  Stone. 

Saint  Charles      .    Lewis  II.  Springer. 

Louisville   .    .    .    Joseph  R.  Ashley. 

Saratoga      .     .     .    Thomas  P.  Dixon. 

Mount  Pleasant  .    John  Soules. 

Stockton      .    .     .     William  C.  Dodge. 

New  Dublin    .     .     Dominick  McDermott 

Twin  Grove     .     .    Oren  Cravath. 

Sand  Creek     .     .    William  Holmes. 

Utica  John  W.  Bentley. 

Shak-a-pay     .    .    Reuben  M.  Wright. 

Warren  ....     Eben  B.  Jewell 

SIBLEY  COUNTY. 

Winona  ....    John  W.  Downer. 
White  Water  Falls  Miles  Peasa. 

Henderson       .    .     Henry  Pochler. 
Prairie  Mound    .    Morgan  Lacey. 

WRIUIIT  COUNTY. 

STEARNS  COUNTY. 

Berlin    ....    Charles  W.  Lambert. 
Buffalo   ....    Amasa  Ackley. 

Clinton  ....    John  II.  Linneman. 

Clear  Water   .    .    Simon  Stevens. 

Neenah  ....     Henry  B.  Johnson. 

Monticello  .     .     .    M.  Fox. 

Saint  Cloud     .     .    Joseph  Edelbrook. 

North  wood  .         .    A.  II.  Kelly. 

(•Reuben  M.  Ki<;.  ard-     R.ekford     .     .     .    Joel  Florida. 

1     ••••-[     8on>                            |  Silver  Creek   .    .    Abram  G.  Descent. 

17 

II. 

LIST  OF  LAND  OFFICES  AND  OFFICERS 

IN  MINNESOTA. 


GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE, 

December  8,  1856. 

SIR  :  Your  two  letters  of  the  6th  instant,  asking  for  a  list  of  the 
land  offices  in  Minnesota  Territory,  with  the  names  of  the  officers 
connected  therewith, — also  the  number  of  acres  sold,  and  the  amount 
of  fees  received  by  such  officers,  during  the  fiscal  year,  ending  30th 
June,  1856,  have  been  received. 

In  reply,  I  herewith  enclose  a  statement  of  the  information 
desired,  save  that  the  amount  of  fees  for  the  fiscal  year  cannot  bo 
stated. 

Very  respectfully, 

THOMAS  A.  HENDRICKS, 

Commissioner. 
C.  C.  ANDREWS,  Esq. 


(194) 


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(195; 


III. 
LIST  OF  NEWSPAPERS  PUBLISHED 

IN  MINNESOTA. 


PIONEER  AND  DEMOCRAT        .     .  St.  Paul        .      Daily  and  Weekly 

MINNESOTIAN        St.  Paul         .      Daily  and  AVeekly 

TIMES St.  Paul        .      Daily  and  Weekly 

FINANCIAL  ADVERTISER    ...     St.  Paul        Weekly 

UNION Stillwater Weekly 

MESSENGER Stillwater Weekly 

EXPRESS St.  Anthony      ....     Weekly 

REPUBLICAN St.  Anthony      ....     Weekly 

DEMOCRAT       Minneapolis      ....     Weekly 

FRONTIERSMAN Sauk  Rapids     ....     Weekly 

NORTHERN  HERALD      ....     Watab Weekly 

INDEPENDENT Shakopee Weekly 

REPUBLICAN Shakopee Weekly 

DEMOCRAT Henderson Weekly 

COURIER St.  Peter Weekly 

DAKOTA  JOURNAL    .....    Hastings Weekly 

SENTINEL Red  Wing Weekly 

GAZETTE Canon  Falls      ....    Weekly 

(196) 


NEWSPAPERS  PUBLISHED  IN  MINNESOTA.       197 

JOURNAL Wabashaw Weekly 

ARGUS Winona Weekly 

REPUBLICAN    .    .    , "  .-*  .    .     .    Wiuona Weekly 

SOUTHERN  HERALD       ....     Brownsville       ....  Weekly 

Cariinona Weekly 

DEMOCRAT Chatfield Weekly 

REPUBLICAN Chatfield Weekly 

RICE  COUNTY  HERALD      .     .     .     Faribault Weekly 

— St.  Cloud Weekly 

OWATONIA  WATCHMAN  AND  RE-  ) 

[  Owatonia Weekly 


17 


IV. 
TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES  FROM  ST.  PAUL. 

MILES 

To  St.  Anthony  .        .        ..      .        .'       .        .  8| 

Rice  Creek            .        .        /     ••        1        .        .        .          7  155 

St.  Francis,  or  Rum  River            .        .v      .        .        .           9  25 

Itasca         '*b*<    •*-->••    -    -   .•<'-•>.••*--.     -..--,-        7  32 

Elk  River         -".-..•..        ...          6  38 

Big  Lake          -  :.        .'•-.*.    ,    ,;^>"  :r  .        .         10  48 

Big  Meadow  (Sturgis)          .    -    .        .    •    t        .        .        18  66 

St.  Cloud  (Sauk  Rapids)      .        .        .    •  '.        .       ;.;;       10  76 

Watab S       .*       .        .           6  82 

Little  Rock          *        .        .        .        .        ...          2  84 

Platte  River         .        .        .        .  *     .       V.;     %      •   .     12  96 

Swan  River  ^      .       -.        .        .      .  ?  •.     .     '  .^     v  .      10  106 

Little  Falls        ;   >.     >*       >.    .\     V       .        «        .          3  109 

Belle  Prairie         .        .        .        .       ..*       ....          5  114 

Fort  Ripley      -  i      \        .        .        .         ...         10  124 

Crow  Wing  River         .        ,      i  .  v-^»".     •*»*       .-:     ..-•  ^       6  130 

Sandy  Lake          .        *        .'       •    ;*       »        •        •      12(>  25° 

Savannah  Portage        .        .                 *        •        .        .        15  265 

Across  the  Portage 5  270 

Down  Savannah  River  to  St.  Louis  River            .        .        20  290 

Fond-du-Lac         .        .        .'       .        tf  ;  •?'    V       .        60  350 

Lake  Superior      .        .        .        >        .        •".'      •        »^'     22  372 

Crow  Wing  River         .  *        •        •        »        ..130 

Otter  Tail  Lake -.        70  200 

(198) 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES.  199 

MILES 

Rice  River       >*-••... 74  274 

Sand  Hills  River          ...*.,..     *  .     .         .70  340 

Grand  Fork,  Red  River                ..       ,        .        .        .  40  380 

Pembina           ,,.  T,»-,,  .        .        .        .        .        .  80  460 

Sandy  Lake          ...........         .  250 

Leech  Lake          .        .        .        .        .        .        ..  150  400 

Red  Lake     +j<   ............         .  80  480 

Pembrina     .,.,..*.........  150  630 

Stillwater          ,    . .   ^  '-.  V ' '. '- .    ;.....  18 

Arcola           .............         .  5  23 

Marine  Mills    ...............        .  6  29 

Falls  St.  Croix     ..............  19  48 

Pokageraa.        ........'..         .         .  40  88 

Fond-du-Lac .        .  75  164 

Red  Rock             .        .        ,f      .      \  '     .        .        .  6 

Point  Douglass     .     '    .         ...         .         .         .  24 

Red  Wing         *.....        .        .         . 

Winpna's  Rock,  Lake  Pepin         .        .        .        .        .  30  60 

.Wabashaw             *    ^    .         .         .'..'.'.'.  30  90 

Prairie  du  Chien           .         .     *   .     "   .         .     '    .         .  145  235 

Cassville       .        .        ,        .."....  29  264 

Peru              .         .         .         ;    ',   .';'.:,'."       ...  21  285 

Dubuque      .         .         .         .        »        .        .       o, .       .   ,       8  293 

Mouth  of  Fever  River          .       *.     .        ^       .        .'  17  310 

Rock  Island         .        .,     ,\    .    ,    .  '  '  /       .        .  52  362 

Burlington            »        .        .        .        .        .        .'       .  135  497 

Keokuk .*        ."  53  550 

St.  Louis %      .  179  729 

Cairo            *        .,       ._-'      .        ....        .  172  901 

New  Orleans 1040  1941 

Mendota                7 

Black  Dog  Village 4 

Sixe's  Village 21 

Traverse  des  Sioux      ...        .        ,        .        .  50 

Little  Rock          .-.".«. 45 

Lac  Qui  Parle      .        .        .^     .        .        .        .        .  80 


200  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

MILES 

Big  Stone  Lake       ............         66 

Fort  Pierce,  on  Missouri      .        ,        .        .        .        .      240 

TABLE  OF  DISTANCES  FROM  ST.  CLOUD. 

To  Minneapolis  .         .         .....         .         .62 

Superior  City,  on  Brott  and  Wilson's  Road        .         .        .        .120 

Traverse  des  Sioux     .         .     •   .     v  ,,     • 70 

Henderson          .         .-.•.'*»• 60 

Fort  Ridgley      .    ...,,£    v»,:  •.,— •    -     •         •         •         •     100 

Long  Prairie       .....         .         .     .   .         .         .       40 

Otter  Tail  Lake       «   .    ••  .         .        .    .,-  .*.....        .       60 

The  Salt  Springs  .  •  .  •  . '  . '"."  .  .  .  i  .  .  v ..  .  120 
Fort  Ripley  .  •  .  •  .  •  .  v  .  .  ,  .,.•-.  »ii»C>  .* .  60 
Mille  Lac  City  .  •  ."' .-^'? •  ;? '••-  ;.  /•  .4' 60 

DISTANCES  FROM  CROW  WING. 

To  Chippeway  Mission   "  .    '*'  » *'. '"v~.     •  .     •   .  .  .       15 

Ojibeway            *4      •        •        .        •        •        •        .  .  .50 

Superior  City     .'.'.•.•.        .        .        .  .  .80 

Otter  Tail  City           .        •        .        ....  .  .60 

St.  Cloud  55 


PART   IV. 

PREEMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES. 


(201) 


PREEMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES. 


AT  a  late  moment,  and  while  the  volume  is  in 
press,  I  am  enabled  to  present  the  following  exposi 
tion  of  the  Preemption  Law,  addressed  to  the  Sec 
retary  of  the  Interior  by  Mr.  Attorney- General 
Gushing.  (See  "Opinions  of  Attorneys  General," 
vol.  7,  733-T43— in  press.) 

PREEMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES. 

Portions  of  the  public  lands,  to  the  amount  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  may  be  taken  up  by  individuals  or  preemptioners  for 
city  or  town  sites. 

The  same  rules  as  to  proof  of  occupation  apply  in  the  case  of  muni 
cipal,  as  of  agricultural,  preemption. 

The  statute  assumes  that  the  purposes  of  a  city  or  town  have  prefer 
ence  over  those  of  trade  or  of  agriculture. 

ATTORNEY  GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 

July  2,  185G. 

SIR:  Your  communication  of  the  20th  May,  transmitting 
papers  regarding  Superior  City  (so  called)  in  the  State  of 
Wisconsin,  submits  for  consideration  three  precise  questions 
of  law ;  two  of  them  presenting  inquiry  of  the  legal  rela 
tions  of  locations  for  town  sites  on  the  public  domain,  and 
the  third  presenting  inquiry  of  another  matter,  which,  although 
pertinent  to  the  case,  yet  is  comprehended  in  a  perfectly  dis 
tinct  class  of  legal  relations. 

(203) 


204  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

I  propose,  in  this  communication,  to  reply  only  upon  the  two 
first  questions. 

The  act  of  Congress  of  April  24,  1841,  entitled  "  An  act 
to  .appropriate  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands 
and  to  grant  preemption  rights,"  contains,  in  section  10th, 
the  following  provisions :  "  no  lands  reserved  for  the  support 
of  schools,  nor  lands  acquired  by  either  of  the  two  last  trea 
ties  with  the  Miami  tribe  of  Indians  in  the  State  of  Indiana, 
or  which  may  be  acquired  of  the  Wyandot  tribe  of  Indians 
in  the  State  of  Ohio,  or  other  Indian  reservation  to  which  the 
title  has  been  or  may  be  extinguished  by  the  United  States 
at  any  time  during  the  operation  of  this  act ;  no  sections  of 
lands  reserved  to  the  United  States  alternate  to  other  sections 
of  land  granted  to  any  of  the  States  for  the  construction  of 
any  canal,  railroad,  or  other  public  improvement ;  no  sections 
or  fractions  of  sections  included  within  the  limits  of  any 
incorporated  town ;  no  portions  of  the  public  lands  which 
have  been  selected  for  the  site  of  a  city  or  town ;  no  parcel 
of  a  lot  of  land  actually  settled  or  occupied  for  the  purposes 
of  trade  and  not  agriculture  ;  and  no  lands  on  which  are 
situated  any  known  salines  or  mines,  shall  be  liable  to  entry 
under  or  by  virtue  of  this  act."  (v  Stat.  at  Large,  p.  456.) 

An  act  passed  May  23, 1844,  entitled  "  An  act  for  the  relief 
of  citizens  of  towns  upon  the  lands  of  the  United  States  under 
certain  circumstances,"  provides  as  follows : 

"  That  whenever  any  portion  of  the  surveyed  public  lands 
has  been  or  shall  be  settled  upon  and  occupied  as  a  town 
site,  and  therefore  not  subject  to  entry  under  the  existing 
preemption  laws,  it  shall  be  lawful,  in  case  such  town  or  place 
shall  be  incorporated,  for  the  corporate  authorities  thereof, 
and  if  not  incorporated,  for  the  judges  of  the  county  court  for 
the  county  in  which  such  town  may  be  situated,  to  enter  at 
the  proper  land  office,  and  at  the  minimum  price,  the  land  so 
settled  and  occupied,  in  trust  for  the  several  use  and  benefit 
of  the  several  occupants  thereof,  according  to  their  respective 
interests ;  the  execution  of  which  trust,  as  to  the  disposal  of 
the  lots  in  said  town,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  thereof, 


PRE-EMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES.        205 

to  be  conducted  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  may  be 
prescribed  by  the  legislative  authority  of  the  state  or  terri 
tory  in  which  the  same  is  situated  :  Provided,  that  the  entry 
of  the  land  intended  by  this  act  be  made  prior  to  the  com 
mencement  of  a  public  sale  of  the  body  of  land  in  which  it 
is  included,  and  that  the  entry  shall  include  only  such  land 
as  is  actually  occupied  by  the  town,  and  be  made  in  confor 
mity  to  the  legal  subdivisions  of  the  public  lands  authorized 
by  the  act  of  the  twenty-fourth  of  April,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  twenty,  and  shall  not  in  the  whole  exceed  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres ;  and  Provided  also,  that  the  act 
of  the  said  trustees,  not  made  in  conformity  to  the  rules  and 
regulations  herein  alluded  to,  shall  be  void  and  of  none 
effect:"  *  *  *  (v  Stat.  at  Large,  p.  687.) 

Upon  which  statutes  you  present  the  following  questions 
of  construction:  "1st.  What  is  the  legal  signification  to  be 
given  to  the  words,  'portions  of  the  public  lands  which  have 
been  selected  as  the  site  for  a  city  or  town/  which  occur  in 
the  preemption  law  of  1841,  and  which  portions  of  the  pub 
lic  lands  are  by  said  act  exempted  from  its  provisions  ?  Do 
they  authorize  selections  by  individuals  with  a  view  to  the 
building  thereon  of  a  city  or  town,  or  do  they  contemplate  a 
selection  made  by  authority  of  some  special  law  ? 

"  Do  the  words  in  the  act  of  23d  May,  1844,  '  and  that  the 
entry  shall  include  only  such  land  as  is  actually  occupied  by 
the  to\\rn/  restrict  the  entry  to  those  quarter  quarter-sections, 
or  forty  acre  subdivisions,  alone,  on  which  houses  have  been 
erected  as  part  of  said  town,  or  do  they  mean,  only,  that  the 
entry  shall  not  embrace  any  land  not  shown  by  the  survey 
on  the  ground,  or  the  plat  of  the  town,  to  be  occupied  thereby, 
and  not  to  exceed ^520  acres,  which  is  to  be  taken  by  legal 
subdivisions,  according  to  the  public  survey,  and  to  what 
species  of  '  legal  subdivisions'  is  reference  made  in  said  act 
of  1844?" 

These  questions,  as  thus  presented  by  you,  are  abstract 
questions  of  law, — namely,  of  the  construction  of  statutes. 
18 


206  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

They  are  distinctly  and  clearly  stated,  so  as  not  to  require  of 
me  any  investigation  of  external  facts  to  render  them  more 
intelligible.  Nor  do  they  require  of  me  to  attempt  to  make 
application  of  them  to  any  actual  case,  conflict  of  right,  or 
controversy  either  between  private  individuals  or  such  indi 
viduals  and  the  Government. 

It  is  true  that,  accompanying  your  communication,  there 
is  a  great  mass  of  representations,  depositions,  arguments,  and 
other  papers,  which  show  that  the  questions  propounded  by 
you  are  not  speculative  ones,  and  that,  on  the  contrary,  they 
bear,  in  some  way,  on  matters  of  interest,  public  or  private, 
to  be  decided  by  the  Department.  But  those  are  matters  for 
you,  not  for  me,  to  determine.  You  have  requested  my  opi 
nion  of  certain  points  of  law,  to  be  used  by  you,  so  far  as 
you  see  fit,  in  aid  of  such  your  own  determination.  I  am 
thus  happily  relieved  of  the  task  of  examining  and  under 
taking  to  analyze  the  voluminous  documents  in  the  case:  more 
especially  as  your  questions,  while  precise  and  complete  in 
themselves,  derive  all  needful  illustration  from  the  very 
instructive  report  in  the  case  of  the  present  Commissioner 
of  Public  Lands  and  the  able  brief  on  the  subject  drawn  up 
in  your  Department. 

I.  To  return  to  the  questions  before  me  :  the  first  is  in  sub 
stance  whether  the  words  in  the  act  of  1841, — "  portions  of 
the  public  land  which  have  been  selected  as  the  site  for  a  city 
or  a  town/' — are  to  be  confined  to  cases  of  such  selection  in 
virtue  of  some  special  authority,  or  by  some  official  authority? 

I  think  not,  for  the  following  reasons  : 

The  statute  does  not  by  any  words  of  legal  intendment 
say  so. 

The  next  preceding  clause  of  the  act,  which  speaks  of  lands 
"included  within  the  limits  of  any  incorporated  town," 
implies  the  contrary,  in  making  separate  provision  for  a  town 
ship  existing  by  special  or  public  authority. 

The  next  succeeding  clause,  which  speaks  of  land  "  actually 
settled  or  occupied  for  the  purposes  of  trade  and  not  agricul- 


PRE-EMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES.        207 

ture,"  leads  to  the  same  conclusion  ;  for  why  should  selection 
for  a  town  site  require  special  authority  any  more  than  occu 
pation  for  the  purposes  of  trade  ? 

The  general  scope  of  the  act  has  the  same  tendency.  Its 
•  general  object  is  to  regulate,  in  behalf  of  individuals,  the  acqui 
sition  of  the  public  domain  by  preemption,  after  voluntary 
occupation  for  a  certain  period  of  time,  and  under  other  pre 
scribed  circumstances.  In  doing  this,  it  gives  a  preference 
preemption  to  certain  other  uses  of  the  public  land,  by  ex 
cluding  such  land  from  liability  to  ordinary  preemption. 
Among  the  uses  thus  privileged,  and  to  which  precedence  in 
preemption  is  accorded,  are,  1.  "  Sections,  or  fractions  of 
sections  included  within  the  limits  of  any  incorporated  town ;" 
2.  "  Portions  of  the  public  land  which  have  been  selected  for 
the  site  of  a  city  or  town  ;"  and,  3.  "  Land  actually  settled 
or  occupied  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  not  agriculture." 
Now,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  any  good  reason  why,  if  individuals 
may  thus  take  voluntarily  for  the  purposes  of  agriculture, — 
they  may  not  also  take  for  the  purposes  of  a  city  or  town. 
The  statute  assumes  that  the  purposes  of  a  city  or  town  have 
preference  over  those  of  trade,  and  still  more  over  those  of 
agriculture.  Yet  individuals  may  take  for  either  of  the  latter 
objects :  a  fortiori  they  may  take  for  a  city  or  town. 

Why  should  it  be  assumed  that  individual  action  in  this 
respect  is  prohibited  for  towns  any  more  than  for  trade  or 
agriculture  ?  It  does  not  concern  the  Government  whether 
two  persons  preempt  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  each  for  the 
purposes  of  agriculture,  or  for  the  purpose  of  a  town,  except 
that  the  latter  object  will,  incidentally,  be  more  beneficial  to 
the  Government.  Nor  is  there  any  other  consideration  of 
public  policy  to  induce  the  Government  to  endeavor  to  dis 
courage  the  formation  of  towns.  Why,  then,  object  to  indi 
viduals  taking  up  a  given  quantity  of  land  in  one  case  rather 
than  in  the  other  ? 

Finally,  the  act  of  1844  definitively  construes  the  act  of  1841, 
and  proves  that  the  "  selection"  for  town  sites  there  spoken 


208  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTA II. 

of  may  be  either  by  public  authority  or  by  individuals : — 
that  the  word  is  for  that  reason  designedly  general,  and  with 
out  qualification,  but  must  be  fixed  by  occupation.  That  act 
supposes  public  land  to  be  "settled  upon  and  occupied  as  a 
town  site,"  and  "  therefore"  not  subject  to  entry  under  the 
existing  preemption  laws.  This  description  identifies  it  with 
the  land  "  selected  for  the  site  of  a  city  or  town,"  in  the  pre 
vious  act.  It  limits  the  quantity  so  to  be  selected,  that  is, 
settled  or  occupied,  to  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and 
otherwise  regulates  the  selection  as  hereinafter  explained. 
It  then  provides  how  such  town  site  is  to  be  entered  and 
patented.  If  the  town  be  incorporated,  then  the  entry  is  to 
be  made  by  its  corporate  authorities.  If  the  town  be  not 
incorporated,  then  it  may  be  entered  in  the  name  of  the  judges 
of  the  county  court  of  the  county,  in  which  the  projected 
town  lies,  "  in  trust  for  the  several  use  and  benefit  of  the 
several  occupants  thereof,  according  to  their  respective  inte 
rests."  Here  we  have  express  recognition  of  voluntary  selec 
tion  and  occupancy  by  individuals,  and  provision  for  means  by 
which  legal  title  in  their  behalf  may  be  acquired  and  patented. 
I  am  aware  that  by  numerous  statutes  anterior  to  the  act 
of  1841,  provision  is  made  for  the  authoritative  selection  of 
town  sites  in  special  cases  ;  but  such  provisions  do  by  no 
means  exclude  or  contradict  the  later  enactment  of  a  general 
provision  of  law  to  comprehend  all  cases  of  selections  for 
town  sites,  whether  authoritative  or  voluntary.  I  think  the 
act  of  1841,  construed  in  the  light  of  the  complementary  act 
of  1844,  as  it  must  be,  provides  clearly  for  both  contingencies 
or  conditions  of  the  subject.  Among  the  anterior  acts,  how 
ever,  is  one  of  great  importance  and  significancy  upon  this 
point,  more  especially  as  that  act  received  exposition  at  the 
time  from  the  proper  departments  of  the  Government.  I 
allude  to  the  act  of  June  22d,  1838,  entitled  "  An  act  to  grant 
preemption  rights  to  settlers  on  the  public  lands."  This  act, 
like  that  of  1841,  contains  a  provision  reserving  certain  lands 
from  ordinary  preemption,  among  which  are : 


PRE-EMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES.       209 

"  Any  portions  of  public  lands,  surveyed  or  otherwise, 
which  have  been  actually  selected  as  sites  for  cities  or  towns, 
lotted  into  smaller  quantities  than  eighty  acres,  and  settled 
upon  and  occupied  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  not  of  agri 
cultural  cultivation  and  improvement,  or  any  land  specially 
occupied  or  reserved  for  town  lots,  or  other  purposes,  by  autho 
rity  of  the  United  States."  (v  Stat.  at  Large,  p.  251.) 

Here  the  "  selection"  generally,  and  the  "  selection"  by 
authority  are  each  provided  for  eo  nomine.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  provision  in  the  latter  case  is  made  for  certainty  only ; 
since,  by  the  general  rules  of  statute  construction,  no  ordi 
nary  claim  of  preemption  could  attach  to  reservations  made 
by  authority  of  the  United  States.  The  effective  provision 
in  the  enactment  quoted,  must  be  selections  not  made  by  the 
authority  of  the  United  States. 

In  point  of  fact  the  provision  was  construed  by  the  Depart 
ment  to  include  all  voluntary  selections  :  lands,  says  the  circu 
lar  of  the  General  Land  Office  of  July  3,  1838,  "  which  set 
tlers  have  selected  with  a  view  of  building  thereon  a  village 
or  city." 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  same  considerations  which  induced 
this  construction  of  the  word  "  selection"  in  the  act  of  1838. 
dictate  a  similar  construction  of  the  same  word  in  the  subse 
quent  act.  Besides  which,  when  a  word  or  words  of  a  sta 
tute,  which  were  of  uncertain  signification  originally,  but 
which  have  been  construed  by  the  proper  authority,  are  re 
peated  in  a  subsequent  statute,  that  is  understood  as  being 
not  a  repetition  merely  of  the  word  with  the  received  con 
struction,  but  an  implied  legislative  adoption  even  of  such 
construction. 

II.  The  second  question  is  of  the  construction  of  the  act 
of  1844,  supplemental  to  that  of  1841 ;  and  as  the  construc 
tion  of  the  elder  derives  aid  from  the  language  of  the  later 
one,  so  does  that  of  the  latter  from  the  former.  The  question 
is  divisible  into  sub-questions.  OADCTOft  i-AjT;'*rx 

1.  Does  the  phrase  "that  the  entry  (fora  town-site)  shall 


210  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

include  only  such  land  as  is  actually  occupied  by  the  town," 
restrict  the  entry  to  those  quarter  quarter-sections,  or  forty 
acre  subdivisions  alone,  on  which  houses  have  been  erected 
as  part  of  said  town  ? 

2.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  in  the  act  "  legal 
subdivisions  of  the  public  lands,"  in  "  conformity"  with  which 
the  entry  must  be  made  ? 

I  put  the  two  acts  together  and  find  that  they  provide  for 
a  system  of  preemptions  for,  among  other  things,  agricultural 
occupation,  commercial  or  mechanical  occupation,  and  muni 
cipal  occupation. 

In  regard  to  agricultural  occupation,  the  laws  provide  that, 
in  certain  cases  and  conditions,  one  person  may  preempt  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  that  in  regard  to  municipal 
occupation  a  plurality  of  persons  may,  in  certain  cases  and 
conditions,  preempt  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  In  the 
latter  contingency,  there  is  no  special  privilege  as  to  quan 
tity,  but  a  disability  rather ;  for  two  persons  together  may 
preempt  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  by  agricultural  occu 
pation,  and  afterwards  convert  the  land  into  a  town  site,  and 
four  persons  together  might  in  the  same  way  secure  six  hun 
dred  and  forty  acres,  to  be  converted  ultimately  into  the  site 
of  a  town ;  while  the  same  four  persons,  selecting  land  for 
a  town  site,  can  take  only  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres. 
In  both  forms  the  parties  enter  at  the  minimum  price  of  the 
public  lands.  The  chief  advantage  which  the  preemptors 
for  municipal  purposes  enjoy,  is,  that  they  have  by  statute  a 
preference  over  agricultural  preemptors,  the  land  selected 
for  a  town  site  being  secured  by  statute  against  general  and 
ordinary,  that  is,  agricultural  preemption.  In  all  other  res 
pects  material  to  the  present  inquiry,  we  may  assume,  for  the  f 
argument's  sake  at  least,  that  the  two  classes  stand  on  a 
footing  of  equality,  as  respects  either  the  conflicting  interests 
of  third  persons,  or  the  rights  of  the  Government. 

Now,  the  rights  of  an  agricultural  pree'mptor  we  under 
stand.  He  is  entitled,  if  he  shall  "  make  a  settlement  in  per- 


PRE-EMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES.        211 

son  on  the  public  lands,"  and  "  shall  inhabit  and  improve 
the  same,  and  shall  erect  a  dwelling  thereon,"  to  enter,  "  by 
legal  subdivisions,  any  number  of  acres  not  exceeding  one 
hundred  and  sixty,  or  a  quarter-section  of  land,  to  include 
the  residence  of  such  claimant."  (Act  of  1841,  s.  10.)  And 
of  two  settlers  on  "  the  same  quarter-section  of  land,"  the 
earlier  one  is  to  have  the  preference.  (Sec.  11.) 

Now,  was  it  ever  imagined  that  such  claimant  must  per 
sonally  inhabit  every  quarter  quarter-section  of  his  claim  ? 
That  he  must  have  under  cultivation  every  quarter  quarter- 
section  ?  That  he  must  erect  a  dwelling  on  every  quarter 
quarter-section  ?  And  that,  if  he  failed  to  do  this,  any  such 
quarter  of  his  quarter-section  might  be  preempted  by  a  later 
occupant  ? 

There  is  no  pretension  that  such  is  the  condition  of  the 
ordinary  preemptor,  and  that  he  is  thus  held  to  inhabit,  to 
cultivate,  to  dwell  on,  every  quarter  quarter-section,  under 
penalty  of  having  it  seized  by  another  preemptor,  or  entered 
in  course  by  any  public  or  private  purchaser.  He  is  to  pro 
vide,  according  to  the  regulations  of  the  Land  Office  or  other 
wise,  indicia,  by  which  the  limits  of  his  claim  shall  be 
known, — he  must  perform  acts  of  possession  or  intended 
ownership  on  the  land,  as  notice  to  others  ;  and  that  suffices 
to  secure  his  rights  under  the  statute.  It  is  not  necessary 
for  him  to  cultivate  every  separate  quarter  of  his  quarter- 
section  ;  it  is  not  necessary  for  him  even  to  enclose  each  ;  it 
only  needs  that  in  good  faith  he  take  possession,  with  inten 
tion  of  occupation  and  settlement,  and  proceed  in  good  faith 
to  occupy  and  settle,  in  such  time  and  in  such  manner,  as 
belong  to  the  nature  of  agricultural  occupation  and  settlement. 

Why  should  there  be  a  different  rule  in  regard  to  occupants 
for  municipal  preemption  ?  The  latter  is,  by  the  very  tenor 
of  the  law,  the  preferred  object.  Why  should  those  interested 
in  it  be  subject  to  special  disabilities  of  competing  occupancy  ? 
1  cannot  conceive. 

It  is  obvious  that,  in  municipal  settlement,  as  well  as  agri- 


212  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAII. 

cultural,  there  must  be  space  of  time  between  the  commence 
ment  and  the  consummation  of  occupation.  There  will  be  a 
moment,  when  the  equitable  right  of  the  agricultural  settler 
is  fixed,  although  he  have  as  yet  done  nothing  more  in  the 
way  of  inhabiting  or  improving  than  to  cut  a  tree  or  drive  a 
stake  into  the  earth.  And  it  may  be  long  before  he  improves 
each  one  of  all  his  quarter  quarter-sections.  So,  in  princi 
ple,  it  is  in  the  case  of  settlement  for  a  town.  We  must 
deal  with  such  things  according  to  their  nature.  Towns  do 
not  spring  into  existence  consummate  and  complete.  Nor 
do  they  commence  with  eight  houses,  systematically  distri 
buted,  each  in  the  centre  of  a  forty-acre  lot.  And  in  the 
case  of  a  town  settlement  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
as  well  as  that  of  a  farm  site  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
all  which  can  be  lawfully  requisite  to  communicate  to  the 
occupants  the  right  of  preemption  to  the  block  of  land,  in 
cluding  every  one  of  its  quarter  quarter-sections, — is  improve 
ment,  or  indication  of  the  improvement  of  the  entire  block, — 
acts  of  possession  or  use  regarding  it,  consonant  with  the 
nature  of  the  thing.  That,  in  a  farm,  will  be  the  erection 
of  a  house  and  outhouses,  cultivation,  and  use  of  pasturage 
or  woodland  :  in  a  town,  it  will  be  erecting  houses  or  shops, 
platting  out  the  land,  grading  or  opening  streets,  and  the  like 
signs  and  marks  of  occupation  or  special  destination. 

The  same  considerations  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would 
not  be  just  to  confine  the  proofs  of  occupation  to  facts  existing 
at  its  very  incipiency.  The  inchoate  or  equitable  right,  as 
against  all  others,  begins  from  the  beginning  of  the  occupa 
tion:  the  ultimate  sufficiency  of  that  occupation  is  to  be 
determined  in  part  by  subsequent  facts,  which  consummate 
the  occupation,  and  also  demonstrate  its  bona  fides.  If  it 
were  otherwise,  there  would  be  an  end  of  all  the  advantage 
expressly  given  by  the  statute  to  priority  of  occupation.  Take 
the  case  of  agricultural  preemptions  for  example.  A  settler 
enters  in  good  faith  upon  a  quarter-section  for  preemption ; 
his  entry,  at  first,  attaches  physically  to  no  more  than  the 


PRE-EMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES.        213 

rood  of  land  on  which  he  is  commencing  to  construct  a 
habitation.  Is  that  entry  confined  in  effect  to  a  single  quarter 
quarter?  Can  other  settlers,  the  next  day,  enter  upon  all 
the  adjoining  quarter  quarters,  and  thus  limit  the  first  settler 
to  the  single  quarter  quarter  on  which  his  dwelling  is  com 
menced  ?  Is  all  proof  of  occupation  in  his  case,  when  he 
comes  to  prove  up  his  title,  to  be  confined  to  acts  anterior  to 
the  date  of  conflict  ?  Clearly  not.  The  inchoate  title  of  the 
first  occupant  ripens  into  a  complete  one  by  the  series  of  acts 
on  his  part  subsequent  to  the  original  occupation. 

In  the  statement  of  the  case  prepared  in  your  office,  it  is 
averred  that  numerous  precedents  exist  in  the  Land  Office, 
not  only  of  the  allowance  of  town  preemptions  as  the  volun 
tary  selection  of  individuals,  but  also  of  the  application  to 
such  preemption  claims  of  the  ordinary  construction  of  the 
word  "  occupation"  habitually  applied  to  agricultural  pre 
emption  claims.  That  is  to  say,  it  has  been  the  practice  of 
the  Government,  not  to  consider  municipal  occupation  "cir 
cumscribed  by  the  forty-acre  subdivisions  actually  built  upon ; 
*  *  but  that  such  occupation  was  (sufficiently)  evidenced, 
either  by  an  actual  survey,  upon  the  ground,  of  said  town  into 
streets,  alleys,  and  blocks,  or  the  publication  of  a  plat  of  the 
same  evidencing  the  connection  therewith  of  the  public  sur 
veys,  so  as  to  give  notice  to  others  of  the  extent  of  the  town 
site:"  all  this,  within  the  extreme  limits,  of  course,  of  the 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  prescribed  by  the  statute. 

I  think  the  practice  of  the  Land  Office  in  this  respect,  as 
thus  reported,  is  lawful  and  proper :  it  being  understood,  of 
course,  that  thus  the  acts  of  alleged  selection,  possession,  and 
occupation  are  performed  in  perfect  good  faith. 

Something  is  hinted,  in  the  report  of  the  commissioner,  as 
to  the  speculation- character  of  the  proposed  town  settlement, 
— and,  in  the  official  brief  accompanying  your  letter,  as  to  the 
speculation-character  of  the  proposed  agricultural  preemption. 
I  suppose  it  must  be  so,  if  the  land  in  question  has  peculiar 
aptitude  for  municipal  uses.  But  how  is  that  material?  The 


214  MINNESOTA  AND  DACOTAH. 

object,  in  either  mode  of  attaining  it,  is  a  lawful  one.  Two 
persons  may  lawfully  preempt  a  certain  quantity  of  land 
under  the  general  law,  and  intend  a  town  site  without  saying 
so;  or  they  may  preempt  avoicedly  for  a  town  site.  As 
between  the  two  courses,  both  having  the  same  ultimate  des 
tination,  it  would  not  seem  that  there  could  be  any  cause  of 
objection  to  the  more  explicit  one. 

So  much  for  the  first  branch  of  the  second  question.  As 
to  the  second  branch  of  it,  the  same  line  of  reasoning  leads 
to  equally  satisfactory  results. 

The  municipal  preemptor,  like  the  agricultural  preemptor, 
is  required  to  take  his  land  in  conformity  with  "  the  legal  sub 
divisions  of  the  public  lands."  I  apprehend  the  import  of  the 
requirement  is  the  same  in  both  cases.  Neither  class  of  pre- 
emptors  is  to  break  the  legal  subdivisions  as  surveyed.  The 
preemptor  of  either  case  may  take  fractional  sections  if  he 
will,  but  he  is  in  every  case  to  run  his  extreme  lines  with  the 
lines  of  the  surveyed  subdivisions.  In  fine,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
there  is  nothing  of  the  present  case,  in  so  far  as  appears  by 
the  questions  presented,  and  the  official  reports  and  statement 
by  which  they  are  explained,  except  a  conflict  of  claim  to 
two  or  three  sectional  subdivisions  of  land  between  different 
sets  of  preemptors,  one  set  being  avowed  municipal  preemp- 
tors,  and  the  other  professed  agricultural  preemptors,  but 
both  sets  having  in  reality  the  same  ulterior  purposes  in  regard 
to  the  use  of  the  land.  The  Government  has  no  possible  con 
cern  in  the  controversy,  except  to  deal  impartially  between 
the  parties  according  to  law.  The  agricultural  preemptors 
contend  that  different  rules  of  right  as  to  the  power  of  indi 
vidual  or  private  occupation,  and  as  to  the  criteria  of  valid 
occupation,  apply  to  them,  as  against  their  adversaries.  The 
municipal  preemptors  contend  that  the  same  rules  of  equal 
right,  inceptive  and  progressive,  in  these  respects,  apply  to 
both  classes  of  preemptors.  I  think  that  the  latter  view  of 
the  law  is  correct,  according  to  its  letter,  its  spirit,  and  the 
settled  practice  of  the  Government. 


PRE-EMPTION  FOR  CITY  OR  TOWN  SITES.        215 

The  investigation  of  the  facts  of  the  case,  and  the  applica 
tion  of  the  law  to  the  facts,  are,  of  course,  duties  of  your 
Department. 

I  leave  here  the  first  and  second  questions ;  and,  proposing 
to  reply  at  an  early  day  on  the  third  question, 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

C.  GUSHING. 
Hon.  ROBERT  MCCLELLAND, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior. 


THE  END. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

THE  OFFICIAL  OPINIONS  OF  THE  ATTORNEYS  GENERAL 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  Edited  by  C.  C.  ANDREWS,  Esq. 
Volume  VII.  (Svo.)  now  ready.  Washington :  Published  by  11. 
Farnham. 

priate  record  of  their  labor  and  their  wisdom.  *  *  No  student  of  the  law 
can  find  more  valuable  reading  than  in  these  opinions.  We  would  urge  upon 
him  to  turn  now  and  then  from  the  common  place  reading  of  the  profession  to 
the  great  studies  which  impart  to  the  law  the  dignity  of  a  science.  If  less  im 
mediate  in  the  rewards  they  bring,  they  are  the  only  studies  which  can  win  for 
the  legal  aspirant  the  true  glory  of  a  great  lawyer." — Monthly  Law  Reporter. 

"  Mr.  Andrews  is  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  his  professional  brethren  for  the 
very  satisfactory  manner  in  which  he  has  presented  these  opinions." — Ameri 
can  Law  Register. 

"  On  such  examination  as  I  have  been  able  to  give  it  (Volume  "VI.),  the  vol 
ume  seems  to  me  to  be  full  of  instruction ;  the  argument  most  clearly  and 
fairly  conducted;  the  researches  thorough,  and  the  conclusions,  in  so  far  as  I 
can  form  a  judgment,  just." — Rufus  Choate. 

"  But  we  should  fail  entirely  in  our  object  of  calling  attention  to  this  work 
if  we  did  not  particularly  commend  it  to  the  notice  of  the  statesman  and  the 
general  reader.  *  *  These  volumes  constitute  a  great  treatise  on  constitu 
tional  law  ;  the  work,  not  of  one  man,  but  of  a  succession  of  able  men  from  the 
age  of  Washington,  who  have  examined  and  revised  each  other.  We  regard  it, 
therefore,  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  publications  which  has  embellished  our 
political  and  legal  literature." — National  Intelligencer. 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  REVENUE  LAWS  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES,  in  one  volume,  Svo.  By  C.  C.  ANDREWS,  Esq.  (Soon 
to  be  published  by  Little,  Brown  and  Company.  See  their  list  of 
new  Law  Books.) 

REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  OPERATION  OF  THE  PRESENT 
SYSTEM  OF  EDUCATION.  By  C.  C.  ANDREWS,  Esq.  Boston: 
Crosby,  Nichols  and  Company :  1853. 

"  The  substance  of  the  pamphlet  appeared  some  time  since  in  a  monthly 
journal,  and  the  author  has  now  revised  it  and  published  it  in  a  more  perma 
nent  form.  His  views  are  sensible,  and  well  deserve  attention.'' — Boston  Daily 
Advertiser. 

"  This  is  an  earnest  and  well  written  essay ;  designed  to  remedy  what  the 
writer  justly  regards  an  important  defect  in  the  present  system  of  education — 
namely,  the  want  of  a  proper  degree  of  moral  instruction.  His  observations 
evince  an  enlightened  mind,  as  well  as  a  philanthropic  spirit;  and  they  deserve 
to  be  considerately  pondered  by  all  whom  they  may  concern." — Puritan  Re 
corder. 

•'  His  practical  remarks  are  of  peculiar  value,  and  show  that  the  author  has 
devoted  much  thought  to  the  topic  of  which  he  treats." — Boston  Daily  Atlas. 

'•  We  have  perused  this  publication  with  more  than  ordinary  interest.  The 
object  of  the  author  is  to  suggest  some  remedies  for  the  acknowledged  defects  in 
the  operation  of  our  system  of  education.  This  object  is  pursued  by  a  masterly 
hand,  in  a  lucid  and  comprehensive  manner." — Evening  Transcript. 

'•This  contribution  to  the  cause  of  common  school  education  is  highly 
creditable  to  the  author,  and  we  have  no  doubt,  if  it  can  be  extensively  circu 
lated,  will  be  productive  of  very  beneficial  results."— Christian  Witness. 


